The United Auto Workers union has decided to walk off the job at midnight Sunday after rejecting a General Motors offer that the automaker said would “improve wages, benefits and grow U.S. jobs in substantive ways.”
In a statement, the UAW said it would strike in order to secure fair wages, affordable healthcare, larger profit sharing cheques and better job security for all of its employees. It is also seeking a “path to permanent seniority,” for temporary workers.
“Local Union leaders from across the nation met Sunday morning after the 2015 General Motors collective bargaining agreement expired Saturday night and opted to strike at midnight on Sunday,” the UAW said in a media release. “The autoworkers are calling on the Big 3 automaker to recognize the contributions and sacrifices that the company’s UAW members have made to create a healthy, profitable, industry.”
GM says it gave the UAW an offer that would see the automaker make “over $7 billion in investments,” and add “more than 5,400 jobs,” in the US over the next four years. This would include “solutions,” for allocated assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio like Hamtramck Assembly and Lordstown Assembly, such as new vehicle and powertrain/propulsion programs. The deal also included wage or lump sum increases in all four years of the contract, an improved profit sharing formula and an $8,000 ratification bonus, GM’s media release said without going into specifics.
One of the more interesting parts of the proposed deal, however, was GM’s promise to bring production of its new electric pickup truck to the United States and set up the first dedicated, union-represented battery cell manufacturing plant in the U.S. Those familiar with GM’s plans say it wanted to build the new electric pickup truck at Hamtramck, while battery cell production would head to Lordstown. The UAW may not be satisfied with these plans, however, as GM isn’t planning to release its battery electric truck for at least three more years.
“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,” GM’s statement said. “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 UAW is attempting to negotiate a contract just as some of its top executives are being investigated for corruption. The FBI has already arrested and charged several top union leaders and recently raided the Michigan home of union leader Gary Jones as part of its ongoing probe. Despite this, the worker’s union says it remains “committed to a strong contract at GM that recognizes our UAW members, who make some of the greatest products in the world and make GM so profitable.”
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Comments
The union needs to come down to reality and realizes that it’s 1950 anymore. Having a job is not a lifetime employment with full benefits anymore.
Whats your definition of a job in this day and age? Im curious
part time workers dont deserve seniority. thats some entitled shit. jobs are temporary. if you want a lifetime job become a politician
GM: closes low-production plants, cuts low profit cars, cuts the jobs associated with them, and cuts back on other programs in order to gain profits to invest in electric vehicles
UAW: YOU’RE MAKING PROFITS AND NOT SHARING AND WE WONT STAND IT!
GM: Let us take that money, develop EVs, allocate EVs to assembly plants, and add back a ton of these jobs. We’ll also toss in more benefits for your workers.
UAW: no. We want your money now! Stop being greedy!
A ton of these jobs? Whatever jobs GM states theyll add cut it in half. It looks good in the media but nobody ever follows up to see how many jobs were actually added. Ive seen it time and time again. And they’re not low production plants, they’re low production products put in them. Its their bat, their ball and we’re just here to play.
You mean… it is their Products, their Factories, and you are JUST there to work?
Correct
Pulled quick calculations, even if GM increased to $70-75 per work hour per employee for 50,000 workers (benefits included) payroll will still be under a $1 billion per year, OTOH union employees from other nations would demand the same thing. GM Korea I don’t see surviving with that type of union.
It is being reported ab un named GM rep is saying new products. Will be offered for some Ohio and Michigan plants. They would not name the products.
That would be interesting if Lordstown comes back into play again.
The closing may have been a chip all along. Will have to wait and see.
This is proof of a strong US economy and no possibility of a recession because the UAW turn down $7 billion in investments by General Motors and add 5,400 jobs as they rather go on strike; if the US Economy is as Democratic Presidential candidates claim that the US is headed for a recession.. they would never go on strike because they would know it could trigger the company of going bankrupt.
If the UAW could predict the next recession they wouldn’t be slaving away in the factories
If anyone of you actually worked at GM you would understand. Im by no means a union guy but i am in it and pay dues. We make $63,000 a year not the $100,000 everyone thinks. These aren’t the old days, you’re right. Everyone thinks its all rainbows and sunshine and its not. Im forced to work 3 Saturdays a month without choice. Come to work on time every day for 15 years and have a flat tire one day that makes you 5 minutes late and you’re wrote up and put in an attendance program that’s almost impossible to get out of. Want to use your vacation? Make sure you have it all scheduled by February 30 for the whole year or you most likely wont get it. We aren’t even allowed to go oit to our vehicles on our own break anymore. Its not good guys im telling you. Im not asking for sympathy im just stating our work lives. Our greatest benefit is health insurance, its true. But every other thing isn’t this golden ticket like everyone thinks.
Gmmann99, if it’s that bad, why continue working for GM? Average income for auto workers is ABOVE the national average. I don’t blame GM moving jobs to cheaper countries because UAW prices themselves too high!
Trust me I contemplate quitting on a daily basis. A lot of these factories are in small towns with not much income so you do what you need to for work. Im guilty as the rest for falling into the trap of working for GM. Next thing you know you have a family to support and bills to pay and you’re stuck. My issues are more work rules related items not so much our income.
This is not just GM but most large production facilities.
I worked for Hoover on the assembly line for a while. You could not come or go. You that two weeks of vacation and had to use it when they said you had to. In July and December.
You 10 min windows to get in and out of the building. You worked when they said.
Even worse you would not work a full year till you have been there 15 years or a day shift till 18 years.
You would get bumped from your job by senior union members at any time.
We got paid well and benefits were good but you had to deal with the baggage to earn it. No one rides free.
That is just the way these places are. When you work production you are just a cog in a large wheel and they are depending on you every min to be at a specific output, time and place.
Many thrive in this enviroment some not so much. To me it was like prison. But that is the way it is.
I punched out went to another company and never looked back. I got a non production job using my education. I did have to start nights/weekends but progressed fast to where I am today.
I could have just sit and complain but I made a choice. It was a step back at first but I am so better off today. Hoover shut down later on when the union wanted even more money and went overseas. The factory is a church today.
The worst part was the distrust between the union and company. No one ever told you anything. They were all careful of what they said. The union was given fair offers but turned them down and in turn the workers al, lost their jobs. If they were paid peanuts I would have felt bad but they had good pay and benefits.
I could have stayed and complained but we all have choices and I made mine. I had to make some sacrifices at first but now I am so much better off than I would have been.
Life is the results of choices and often sacrifices. If you are not happy where you are only you are holding yourself back.
I escaped the system and if I could do it anyone can. It took me a few more years to regain the money but it was worth it. We just adjusted our living a bit and made it work.
No one should stay at a job or company they hate just based on money. It will kill you.
There are mostly good people in these plants on both sides and only circumstances are putting them on the sides they are on.. it is the beast of production that creates this situation. As I said some love it many hate it but they let themselves become a slave to the system just for money. Only they hold the key and so many fail to use it. It is a tough move but it can be done. Especially in today’s job market.
Thanks for sharing, C8R. Well written, to the point, and I can tell you are a passionate and caring person just by the way your honesty opened up in your story.
Good for you!
$63k with full bennies for building junk?? For work a monkey could learn? Good grief.
Unions are greedy and selfish organizations.
Hope GM hires scabs fulltime and dissolves its relationship with the UAW.
UAW can go to hell!!!
and to you UAW workers….. lazy bastards get back to work!!!!
I think the biggest reason is Lordstown and GM keeping quiet about what’s being doveloped.
A few thoughts:
GM just got an excuse for why the Ram outsold the Silverado/Sierra.
If the UAW strikes and GM gives in on keeping Hamtramck open and it saves the CT6, I’m happy.
If it lasts, this cripples the C8 launch. All the hype and there will be no cars.
Just don’t cancel the CT6.
Don’t really care about anything else.
The truth is that people like paying for goods that give the most bang for the buck, and GM is ineffective in gaining worldwide market share compared to VW because of poor management relationships between the Union and Company, not due to unions themselves. VW builds most of their vehicles in Germany, a country which has a much stronger union presence than the USA. But their unions never cause disruptions like we see here, and most negotiations go smoothly. On top of that, they make more Profits and have more desirable EV’s than GM (Which is crucial to future success).
GM needs to get rid of parasitic UAW, so it could build higher quality products on US soil.
I still don’t understand why foreign car companies are not obligated with UAW while domestics are.
Decalan wants GM to have a defenseless workforce, so that the wages can be driven down not only at the level paid in the former slavocracy, but even down at Haitian level.
And despite his claim not understanding, he knows quite well that the Japanese and German car companies built their new factories (the main exporters of cars from the USA) in “the South” and that political forces of both parties, but especially those allied to current POTUS Trump do everything to prevent workers from organizing;
Trump’s first envoy to the UNO, Nikki Haley is famours for ther union-busting as South Carolina’s governor:
»quote»
«end quote«
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-17/nikki-haley-proud-union-buster-at-boeing-south-carolina-i8lpjuao
It is necessary to UNIONIZE THE SOUTH!
Not a fascist dictatorship which prohibits workers from defending themselves
Observer 7, when working conditions were dangerous and we had no labor laws, we needed unions. Now we have Labor laws. The Union has gotten too greedy and their demands are what have caused companies to go under. UAW needs to wake up to the fact that workers in other countries will work just as hard for a lot less.
I’ll tell you who does need to unionize are workers in the countries these companies are moving too.
GM is paying 75+ an hour for a worker while that worker receives less then 30 plus benefits. The rest goes to Union. While foreign car companies only pay around 15, I’m not saying to lower to 15, but to retain their salary and not pay a middle man for nothing. Most workplaces are not unionized while the workers are not defenseless, there are laws companies follow that government put in place to protect the workers, how would they be defenseless? If you can eliminate the union, that would make it worth while to keep the manufacturing in US soil.
decalan – a couple things… 1. we do not make $75 p/h I’m assuming you are calculating the health benefits into the per hour rate. So, let’s look at that. I make $22.50 per hour and if you use the $25,000 per year the company claims they pay in health care (roughly $12 p/h) it still only comes to $34.50 per hour. Granted, I am not top tier; but add $8 or even $10 p/h to that and it still way below what you claim.
2. “foreign companies only pay around $15”. So, either foreign companies don’t pay a dime in health care costs for their employees or you’ve added health care costs to your example about GM but didn’t for the foreign companies.
That’s enough. Not going to try to convince an anti-union person why unions have helped and continue to help not only skilled labor but all labor. Regards.