GM strike is possible as union fights

THE four-year contract between General Motors and the United Auto Workers expired Saturday but workers were told to report to their jobs as negotiations on a new deal continued and the prospect of a national strike loomed.

Union officials let the contract lapse just before midnight, raising the possibility of a strike as early as Sunday night (US time).

But there was a wrinkle. About 850 UAW-represented janitors who work for Aramark, a separate company, went on strike on Sunday after working under an extended contract since March of 2018, the union said.

The strike covered eight GM facilities in Ohio and Michigan. Although UAW workers at GM are supposed to work, it wasn’t clear early yesterday whether the rank-and-file would cross their own union’s picket lines. GM said in a statement that it has contingency plans for any disruptions from the Aramark strike.

UAW Vice President Terry Dittes said in a letter to members that, after months of bargaining, both the union and GM are far apart on issues such as wages, health care, temporary employees, job security and profitsharing.

The union’s executive leaders and a larger group of plant-level officials were to meet yesterday morning to decide the union’s next steps.

The letter to members and another one to GM were aimed at turning up the pressure on GM negotiators.

“While we are fighting for better wages, affordable quality health care and job security, GM refuses to put hard working Americans ahead of their record profits,” Dittes, the union’s chief bargainer with GM, said in a statement Saturday night.

Kristin Dziczek, vice president of the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think tank, said the union could strike at GM after the contract expires.

“If they’re not extending the agreement, then that would leave them open to strike,” she said.

But GM, in a statement Saturday night, still held out hope for an agreement, saying it continues to work on solutions.

“We are prepared to negotiate around the clock because there are thousands of GM families and their communities — and many thousands more at our dealerships and suppliers — counting on us for their livelihood. Our goal remains on building a strong future for our employees and our business," the GM statement said.

A strike by 49,200 union workers would bring to a halt GM’s US production and would likely stop the company from making vehicles in Canada and Mexico. That would mean fewer vehicles for consumers to choose from on dealer lots and it would make it impossible to build specially ordered cars and trucks.

The union’s executive board was to meet yesterday to talk about the union’s next steps, followed by a meeting in Detroit of plant-level union leaders from all over the country. An announcement was scheduled for after the meetings end.

(AP)