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What a relief the strike has ended at General Motors Corp.'s Fairfax manufacturing plant in Kansas City, Kan.

Granted, the plant is more an hour's drive east of Topeka, but resolution of the strike is good news for all Kansans - and for the domestic auto industry.

It was saddening to learn earlier this month that about 2,500 members of United Auto Workers Local 31 had walked off the job over a contract dispute with management.

At the time, Fairfax had been on a roll as a manufacturing site for GM's newly redesigned Malibu, a hot seller that was giving Japanese automakers a run for their money in the midsize sedan market.

The car has collected a trunk full of awards and honors, including being named the 2008 North American Car of the Year, Best Redesigned Vehicle of the year by Kelley Blue Book and one of the top 10 cars of 2008 by Car and Driver magazine.

In another indication of the car's marketability, sales of the Malibu increased 31 percent through the first quarter of 2008. With vehicle buyers increasingly moving away from sport utility vehicles and full-sized pickups because of high fuel prices, things looked even brighter for the Malibu and the Saturn Aura, another midsize sedan manufactured at Fairfax.

The strike threatened to kill the momentum.

"We've got a great car that's selling," a man on the picket line said in a story distributed by The Associated Press. "They picked a bad time to force us to do this."

Agreed, which is why it was so nice to see the production line kick into gear again this week.

UAW members and management came to an agreement that creates 120 new entry-level positions and preserves or creates 30 skilled trade jobs. Each union member also will receive a $1,250 bonus.

"Our focus is that the Malibu (and) the Aura are important products for us and we look forward to resuming production," GM spokesman Dan Flores said.

According to GM, the company lost $800 million in the first quarter of the year and built 230,000 fewer vehicles than it had planned to manufacture because of the strike.

That's quite a hit, but it could have been far worse.

Now, here's hoping the Malibus being produced in Kansas City keep right on selling. It appears GM thinks they will, based on a recent report in the Detroit Free-Press saying the company was planning to add a shift at its plant in Orion Township, Mich., to produce the vehicles.

After years of being trounced in the midsize market, it would be terrific to see GM make a stand.

Copyright 2008
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