DAYTON DAILY NEWS                   Copyright (c) 1996, Dayton Newspapers Inc.DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996              TAG: 9603130069EDITION: CITY           SECTION: NEWS        PAGE: 1A TYPE: LOCAL SOURCE: Todd R. Wallack DAYTON DAILY NEWS                        STRIKE CRIPPLES 54 GM PLANTS                         BOTTOM LINE NOT BEING HURT   No one will ever doubt the clout of United Auto Workers Local 696.   By auto industry standards, the union local isn't particularly prominent. It controls just 3,000 members at two brake plants in Dayton.   But after striking for just eight days - over issues related to jobs and safety - it has crippled GM's production of cars and trucks in North America.   By Tuesday evening, the strike had idled 83,000 workers at 54 GM plants - afigure that grows each hour - perhaps the most by a single union local in morethan a decade.   "I think Dayton is a place GM would like to take off the map right now," said Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California at Berkeley who follows the auto industry. "My sense is GM is going to have to concede something that is fairly major."   Talks were scheduled for 9 p.m. Tuesday and union leaders predict the strike will end in a matter of days, rather than weeks.   The reason the union has so much power is relatively simple: It supplies brake components for nearly every car and truck GM makes and 27 out of 29 assembly plants.   That's also a point of contention in the strike. GM would like to lessen its dependence on the plants by shifting work outside. The union wants to dig in to maintain its bargaining position and prevent future layoffs.   But until they settle, the number of plants affected by the strike continues to spread like the flu.   By Tuesday evening, 21 out of 29 assembly plants in North America had been shut down for lack of parts - and analysts said all but two will follow shortly. In turn, parts plants that supply the assembly plants have started tumbling as well. "Right now, they're scrambling to move similar brake parts from plant to plantto keep them running," said Joe Phillippe, an analyst with Lehman Brothers. "Everything will be down by Friday."   Even when the strike ends, it will take several days for other plants to get up and running because there arent any parts left in the supply line.   Analysts said GM hasn't been hurt because it has too much inventory - 82 days for cars and 79 days for trucks vs. the industry benchmark of 60 days. Only three truck models are in short supply.    "If the company settles soon, the effect on the bottom line will be nil," said David Healy, an auto analyst with Burnham Securities. "I believe the management has dragged its feet a little bit to get rid of their inventory of cars and trucks."   A short strike could even benefit the company. Unlike a normal production cut to clear inventory, in most cases, GM wont have to pay laid-off workers "supplemental unemployment benefits." UAW workers are not entitled to such benefits because one of their locals sparked the shutdown.   If the strike drags on, analysts predict the company will lose between $35 million and $50 million a day.   The impact on the economy should be slight, said Tom Traynor, associate professor of economics at Wright State University. Even in a big GM town such as Dayton, striking workers or those laid off with just unemployment benefits will total less than 1 percent of the work force.   "The average citizen in Dayton won't even notice the difference," Traynor said. "If indeed the strike is fairly short, you're not going to see a measurable change in the behavior of those workers."   An exception: Businesses that depend on workers affected by the strike, such as restaurants and taverns near the plants, might be hurt.   But the strike could have other implications.   Whatever GM does to settle the strike could set a precedent for national negotiations, expected to begin this summer. The UAW contract with the Big Three automakers expires in September and many of the same issues Local 696 israising about shifting work to other plants also are likely to be on the table.   "It causes everyone to dig in their heels a bit more," Shaiken said.    Moreover, it also could affect GM's attempt to distance its core operations- which design and build cars - from its parts plants, generally grouped underthe Delphi Automotive Systems division.   Unlike Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp., which build few of their own parts, GM depends on its own plants. Healy said that means GM must typically spend $45 an hour in labor and benefits, compared with $15 for other automakers.   The union counters that GM just recorded its largest profit last year, $6.9billion. Locally, a union official said the striking plants earned $75 millionof nearly $900 million in sales last year.   "It's the old story," Healy said. "GM says its margins are poor because itspaying three times as much in labor costs as it should. The union says look atall the money the company is making."   But Local 696 seems determined to maintain all its GM work as long as it has the power to shut down GM's North American operations.   "The union realizes that now is the time when it has the leverage to retainthe jobs," Shaiken said.'BOX:      ***********************************************                                     GM BOX      ***********************************************                        Dayton: How two brake plants can cripple         Dayton: How two brake plants can cripple         a giant corporation             1        Tuesday, March 5 - 2,700 workers strike at 2 Dayton GM brake plants,      ending shipments of brake parts to nearly all 29 North American assembly      plants.              2        Friday, March 8 -        With limited inventory of brake parts and no fresh supplies, assembly      plants are forced to start shutting down.        Saturday, March 9 -         4,000 idled at Moraine plant.             3        Monday, March 11 -         With assembly plants idled, demand for other parts decreases. GM sends     137 of its 2,700 hourly workers home from its Delphi Chassis parts plant      in Kettering.              4        Tuesday, March 12 -         At least 21 of GM's 29 assembly plants shut down. 9 parts plants close     and 24 parts plants partially shut down. A total of 87,000 of GM's      200,000 hourly workers in North America are idle.              5        Supply of popular vehicles dwindles, including trucks such as the      Chevrolet C/K and GMC Sierra, and sport utilities, such as the Chevrolet      Suburban and GMC Yukon. Among cars, Saturn inventories will be the      quickest to feel the pinch.           ***********************************************                       "Just-in-time"  demand and supply:     ***********************************************             Parts plant produces and ships goods as assembly plant orders them,      delivering the parts "just in time." This production process results in      limited inventory, which can save money. Less investment is needed for      warehouse space and stock.         "Just-in-time" delivery also enables mistakes to be caught before vast     quantities of products are made.         The danger of "just-in-time" delivery is that if parts production is      interrupted, as with the current strike, no stock is available for      continued assembly, effectively shutting down the plant.     ***********************************************        Source: General Motors Corp., Wards Automotive Report, Associated      Press        GREGG DEGROAT, JOHN HANCOCK/DAYTON DAILY NEWSLENGTH: Long  :  156 LINESSUBJ: PLANT CLOSINGS      STRIKEENHANCER: REF4