A majority of United Auto Workers members approved a ratified agreement with General Motors on Thursday that would give the union a stake in the automaker in return for concessions, according to initial tallies.
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“This is tough for our members, but our hands are tied,” Dwight Chatham, president of UAW Local 211 in Defiance, Ohio, whose members voted 77% in favour of the amended agreement, told Reuters. “We want to help GM survive. Now this is back in the hands of GM and the government.”
His branch represents nearly 1,300 workers.
Under the terms of the amended agreement, the UAW would receive half the US$20bn GM owes a union-aligned healthcare trust in the form of stock and new debt instead of cash.
GM’s roughly 54,000 UAW-represented U.S. factory workers began voting on the agreement on Wednesday and should conclude on Thursday.
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By GlobalDataUAW president Ron Gettelfinger told Reuters last night some 40% of the total vote had been counted and the final tally should be completed at around 4pm EDT on Friday.
One branch official said his members approved the amendment because they realised the alternative was to risk GM’s survival.
“My members are not stupid,” he said. “They know the score.”
