UAW and GM reach tentative agreement to end strike

DETROIT – United Auto Workers and General Motors are moving closer to an agreement in principle that could put an end to the union's current strike against the automaker.

An agreement should not be reached tonight. Negotiators should resume negotiations after tonight's break, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

Negotiators have met daily since the start of the September 16 work stoppage. However, talks between the two sides have intensified over the last 24 to 48 hours, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

A letter from the Vice President of the UAW, Terry Dittes, to members, confirmed Wednesday that progress had been made this week. About 48,000 unionized workers demonstrated in front of a factory in front of the manufacturer's US plants for the 10th day.

Dittes, in his letter, said that all outstanding proposals are now at the "Main Table and have been presented to General Motors and that we are waiting for their answers". He added that "the exchanges will continue until the negotiations are completed".

The fact that all issues are dealt with at the "main table" and not in subcommittees is usually a sign that a tentative agreement could be imminent, provided that the discussions do not fall apart on points of agreement. blocking important. Depending on the distance between the parties, such as wages and temporary workers, it could take hours or days, the sources said.

"We will continue to negotiate this contract until your bargaining committee is satisfied that we have reached an agreement that adequately addresses the concerns of our members," Dittes said in the letter.

In response to the letter, GM said the negotiators "continue to meet and our goal remains to reach an agreement that builds a better future for our employees and our company."

GM's reliance on temporary workers and the closing of factories that must be closed have been one of the main stumbling blocks, according to people familiar with the talks.

"The intensification of discussions around ongoing negotiations and at the main table should mean that they are about to reach an agreement," said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, Labor and Economy Center for Automotive Research. . "But there is still a long way to go once they have reached this agreement."

Once the proposed agreement is finalized, the union must submit the agreement to the GM-UAW board, which includes the local leadership, and then to the membership for approval. This process usually takes two weeks. however, this could be accelerated if the union decided to keep the workers on strike during the vote.

Ratification of agreements-in-principle has not traditionally been a problem. However, the Fiat Chrysler workers, four years ago, rejected the original agreement approved by the UAW leaders, which sent the negotiators back to the table.

Prior to the ongoing negotiations, industry analysts warned that ratification of any deal could be difficult, as a federal investigation into corruption would hit the UAW's highest ranks.

UAW members with GM have been on strike since 16 September after the two sides failed to reach an agreement by 14 September. This is the union's first national strike against the automaker since a two-day work stoppage in 2007 and the longest national strike since the 1970s.