GM and UAW expand their pacts with Ford and Fiat Chrysler

DETROIT (AP) – United Auto Workers union leaders have extended their contracts with Ford and Fiat Chrysler for an indefinite period, but the deal with General Motors is still about to expire on Saturday night.

This, along with the growing investigation into corruption by union leaders, is putting additional pressure on negotiators on both sides, who are approaching the contract deadline and where the union is beginning to prepare for the future. view of a strike.

The union chose GM as a target company, which means that this issue is central to the negotiations and that it would be the first company to deal with a walkout. GM's contract with the union is due to expire at 23:59. Saturday.

It is possible that GM's four-year contract will also be extended or an agreement reached, but it is more likely that 49,200 UAW members will be able to leave GM factories as early as Sunday, as demands from unions and companies are very far away.

The picket lines' schedules have already been posted near the entrance of a local UAW office in Detroit.

Art Wheaton, an automotive industry expert at the Cornell University Worker Institute, expects an extension of GM's contract, but adds that the gap between the two parties is great.

"GM is looking through the windshield and it seems nothing but anti-personnel mines," he said, citing a possible recession, trade disputes and the cost of developing electric and autonomous vehicles . "I think it will be very difficult to match the union's expectations with General Motors' desire to give members what they want."

Union leaders from across the country will be in Detroit on Sunday to discuss next steps. After that, the union will probably make an announcement.

But leaders are likely to question a growing investigation into corruption by the federal government, which surprised a senior official on Thursday. Vance Pearson, head of a regional office based near St. Louis, has been charged with bribery as part of a scheme to divert union money and spend money. money in quality beverages, golf clubs, cigars and luxury California vacations. It is the same region led by UAW President Gary Jones, before taking up the position of senior union leader last year.

Jones and other union leaders met privately in a Detroit Metro Airport hotel on Friday. After the meeting, Jones's driver and others physically prevented an Associated Press reporter from trying to approach him for questions. Jones has not been charged in the case.

Union spokesman Brian Rothenberg said Friday night that Jones remains in power, as well as Pearson. "They have not made any changes," he said.

In a 40-page criminal complaint, the government claimed that union leaders had spent more than $ 600,000 in UAW on businesses in the Palm Beach, California area, including restaurants, a golf complex, a store of cigar and rental buildings. 2017

The union stated that the government misinterpreted the facts and that the allegations did not constitute evidence of wrongdoing. "Whatever it is, we will not let that distract us from critical ongoing negotiations with GM for better wages and benefits," Rothenberg said.

At UAW Local 22 in Detroit, the three-day picket lines were posted at the lobby windows. The local represents factory workers straddling the border between Detroit and the Hamtramck hamlet.

The 24-hour schedule does not mention a date to start, but a separate schedule has a group referring to the Union Hall at 6 am on Sunday. The factory, which makes the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac CT6, is one of four that GM plans to close.

Here are the main areas of disagreement:

– GM is making a lot of money, $ 8 billion last year alone, and workers want a bigger share. The union wants annual wage increases to protect itself from the economic downturn, but the company wants to pay lump sums related to revenues. Automakers do not want higher fixed costs.

– The union also wants new products for four plants GM wants to close. Factory projects have upset some workers, although most laid-off people are getting jobs at other GM factories. GM currently has too much factory capacity in the United States.

– Companies want to fill the cost gap of the workforce with factory workers managed by foreign builders. GM's gap is the largest ($ 13 an hour), followed by Ford ($ 11) and Fiat Chrysler ($ 5), according to figures from the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think-tank. GM pays $ 63 an hour in wages and benefits, compared with $ 50 in foreign-owned plants.

– Union members benefit from excellent health insurance plans, but workers pay about 4% of the cost. Employees of major companies in the country pay about 34 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Companies would like to reduce costs.

If there was a strike, it would be the first time since 2007 against GM.

The union may have to go on strike for at least a while to show the workers that the company is getting the most out of it, Wheaton said. Some workers, he said, are wary of union leaders because of the corruption scandal.

Negotiators do not usually talk about the talks, but a week ago, UAW Vice President Terry Dittes wrote in a letter to local union leaders that GM had been slow to react to union proposals. . GM responded in a letter to the factories that indicated it was moving as fast as possible.

"We are working hard to understand and respond to the UAW proposals, and we have offered to meet as often as necessary," the letter said.