General Motors announced on Thursday that it has reached an agreement with UAW Local 602, which has been striking the automaker’s Delta Township crossover factory since April 17. GM also announced that it has avoided a strike by UAW Local 549, which staff’s the company’s Ontario, Ohio stamping facility, just outside of Mansfield.
Although GM has confirmed the agreement with UAW Local 602, employees will not return to work until the deal is ratified, according to Automotive News.
Just yesterday GM canceled Local 602′s health and life insurance — per the national contact signed last year — but it remains unclear if that had a part in the resolution.
GM avoided the strike in Ohio as Local 549 withdrew its strike threat on Wednesday afternoon.
GM is still in the midst of a UAW strike at its Fairfax facility in Kansas City, Kansas, which has been on strike since May 5.
GM is also involved with a UAW at one of its suppliers, American Axle. The auto giant has offered American Axle $200 million to settle the dispute with the UAW, but negotiations have stalled – largely due to disputes over health care benefits and unemployment compensation.
However, some analysts are beginning to believe that the UAW strike against American Axle could be the result of frustration over the national agreement inked last year. “I’m starting to think about whether this is simple dissatisfaction with the national contract reached last year,†Aaron Bragman, a research analyst at Global Insight Inc., told Automotive News.
