Output at General Motors in the US is being hit by a strike by United Auto Workers (UAW) members. Some 49,000 UAW members at GM have walked out in what is the company’s first strike action since 2007.
GM and the UAW are locked in disagreement over the terms of a new collective bargaining contract between the company and UAW members. The existing contract expired at the weekend, the strike starting on Sunday (September 15). GM has said that its offer to the UAW includes investments in eight facilities and adds more than 5,400 jobs.
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In a statement, GM said: “We presented a strong offer that improves wages, benefits and grows U.S. jobs in substantive ways and it is disappointing that the UAW leadership has chosen to strike at midnight tonight. We have negotiated in good faith and with a sense of urgency. Our goal remains to build a strong future for our employees and our business.”
The company said its offer includes:
- Solutions for unallocated assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio
- Investments in eight facilities in four states
- Introduction of all-new electric trucks (media reports in the US suggest an electric truck would be built in GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant, effectively rescuing the ‘unallocated’ plant).
- Opportunity to become the first union-represented battery cell manufacturing site in the U.S.
- Additional new vehicle and propulsion programs
GM also said it offers ‘best-in-class wages and benefits:
- Wage or lump sum increases in all four years
- Improved Profit Sharing Formula
- Ratification payment of $8,000
- Retain nationally-leading health care benefits
- New coverage for autism therapy care, chiropractic care and allergy testing
According to the Detroit News, UAW Vice President Terry Dittes sent a letter to Scott Sandefur, vice president of Labour Relations at GM, on Sunday stating: “Over the last two months, we have met with GM representatives countless times in an effort to resolve many important issues raised by our members.”
Dittes also said the union was disappointed that GM waited two hours before the contract expired on Saturday night to make what the union considered “its first serious offer.”
If the union received that offer earlier, it may have been possible for the two to reach a tentative agreement and the strike may have been avoided, Dittes wrote.
The GM-UAW dispute comes as the UAW faces a federal investigation into corruption, a factor that adds a complication that could make an early resolution to the dispute harder to achieve.
“We stood up for General Motors when they needed us most. Now we are standing together in unity and solidarity for our Members, their families and the communities where we work and live,” said UAW Vice President Terry Dittes.
The UAW said the strike is designed to secure:
- Fair Wages
- Affordable Healthcare
- Our Share of Profits
- Job Security
- A Defined Path to Permanent Seniority for Temps
“We told UAW GM members that we would stand up for them and their future,” said Gary Jones, President of the UAW.
