UAW Local 645

The United Automobile Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, began their organization drive in Muncie in 1935. Two years later the workers of the Warner Gear Division of Muncie were chartered as the Local 287 on March 25, 1937. Local 287 has been involved in two strikes against Borg-Warner (previously Warner Gear), once in 1953 that lasted for thirteen weeks and another in 1989 that lasted for fifty-two days. In 2007 Borg-Warner requested to open contract negotiations with Local 287 due to decline in demand for the plant's main product line-- transfer cases for Ford Motor Company transmission systems. On December 18, 2007 workers rejected the request and the decision was made to close the plant. BorgWarner-Muncie closed in April 2009.

From the description of UAW-CIO, Local 287 records and photographs, 1938-2000. (Ball State University Library). WorldCat record id: 458603314