A municipal union president is criticizing City of Mansfield, Ohio, officials for purchasing three Nissan NV200 vans instead of buying its usual General Motors vehicles, the Mansfield News Journal reported.

General Motors closed its stamping plant in a nearby city in 2010, and the two sides have argued about the manufacturing location of the Nissan vehicles. Nissan sources its NV200 vans from an assembly plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico, a Nissan spokesman told GovernmentFleet.com.

Mayor Tim Theaker claims the Nissan vehicles cost $3,000 less each than the state bid for similar vehicles and that the city purchased them at a local dealership.

Dan Mapes, the local union president, has said the purchase constitutes a slap in the face to former GM employees. Technicians haven’t been trained to work on these vehicles, Mapes contends.

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