After nine days of negotiations with General Motors, the UAW called a strike at 11:06am today. The issues that caused the two sides not to come to an agreement included a new two-tiered wage structure and a new system for funding retiree health care. The UAW gave GM an 11:00 am deadline to resolve the issues or face a strike.
“We’re shocked and disappointed that General Motors has failed to recognize and appreciate what our membership has contributed during the past four years,†said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. “Since 2003, our members have made extraordinary efforts every time the company came to us with a problem: the corporate restructuring, the attrition plan, the Delphi bankruptcy, the 2005 health care agreement. In every case, our members went the extra mile to find reasonable solutions,†Gettelfinger continued.
According to Automotive News, the strike involves 73,000 UAW employees throughout the United States. It marks GM’s first stoppage since 1998 when a strike halted operations at a Flint, Michigan parts plant for 54 days.
