UAW: United Auto Workers strike at General Motors facilities across the country

Detroit – Some 46,000 members of United Auto Workers went on strike early Monday, leaving the floors of the General Motors factory and setting picket lines as the strike deadline approaches midnight. Workers closed 33 manufacturing plants in nine US states and 22 parts distribution warehouses.

It was unclear how long the strike would last, with the union claiming that GM had moved little during months of negotiations while GM had made substantial offers, including higher wages and investment in factories. Discussions were scheduled to resume at 10:00 am EDT Monday.

This is the first national strike organized by the union since a two-day hiatus in 2007 that has had little impact on society.

GM workers joined striking janitors on Aramark employees Sunday night in a sprawling factory on the border between Detroit and the small town of Hamtramck.

The worker Patty Thomas said that she was not scheduled for picketing, but that she came to support her colleagues at the auto plant, which GM wants to close. She added that workers had dropped cost-of-living wage increases to help GM get out of bankruptcy and that workers were anxious for some now that the company was plummeting.

GM striking employees were joined on the picket lines by Ford and Fiat Chrysler workers, who work under contract.

Night workers in an aluminum smelter in Bedford, Indiana, who manufacture transmission guards and other parts, shut down their machines and head for exits, said Dave Green, a worker transferred from the currently closed GM small car factory in Lordstown, Ohio.

Green, a former local president, said he was in agreement with the strike on wages, plant closings and other issues. "If we do not fight now, when are we going to fight?" He asked. "It's not about us – it's about the future."

Beginning at midnight, shouts of joy and car sounds filled the night air around GM's assembly plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, reported WANE-TV, affiliated with CBS, while passing motorists expressed their support for the strikers. Members of UAW Local 2209 gathered at the factory outlets with placards.

A similar scene took place at the GM plant in Parma, Ohio, reports Cleveland's CBS subsidiary, WOIO-TV.

UAW Vice President Terry Dittes, the union's chief negotiator to the Director General, said a strike was a last resort, but that it was necessary because both sides were very distant in the negotiation of a new four-year contract. The union, he said Saturday, does not take the strike lightly.

"We clearly understand the difficulties this may cause," he said. "We stand for fair wages, we defend affordable and quality healthcare, we defend our share of profits."

GM, however, announced salary increases and investments in $ 7 billion US plants, which would create 5,400 new jobs, a minority of which would be filled by current employees. GM would not give a specific number. The company also said it was offering higher profit sharing, "national leaders" health benefits and a $ 8,000 payout to each worker when ratifying a new contract .

As public statements on both sides are contradictory, it's hard to say how long the strike will last, said Kristin Dziczek, Vice President of Labor and Industry of the Center for Automotive Research, a think tank of the sector. The length "depends on the distance that actually separates them and the location of the lines in the sand," she said.

Analysts agree that a prolonged shutdown could hurt the US economy as a whole. It is in this case a major objective of the 2020 presidential race.

President Trump hopes that the economy will remain strong to strengthen his bid for reelection. He tweeted on Sunday that both parties should "come together and make a deal!"

Several important candidates for the Democratic presidency supported the UAW.

According to Mr. Dittes, the union "defended the interests of General Motors when they needed us most, and now we are united in unity and solidarity with our members, their families and the communities in which we live. live and work. " The UAW made significant concessions to GM during the financial crisis of the auto industry to keep the company afloat.

The union's deal with GM expired Saturday night, but the pacts with its company rivals, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, were extended indefinitely.

The union chose GM as a target company this year and any negotiated agreement will serve as a model for others. The UAW said GM was chosen because it was the most profitable of the three and because it was considering closing four US factories angered unionists.

On Sunday, about 200 factory executives voted unanimously in favor of a strike against GM if no deal was struck Sunday night.

Before the talks broke, GM proposed to build a new 100% electric pickup truck in a Detroit plant that is expected to close next year, said a person who had spoken to The Associated Press under cover d & # 39; anonymity. The person was not allowed to disclose the details of the negotiations.

The automaker also proposed to open an electric vehicle battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio, home to a huge factory that has already stopped making cars and will be shut down. The new plant would add to the proposal to make electric vehicles for a company called Workhorse, said the person.

It is not known how many workers the two plants would employ. The closures, particularly from the Ohio plant, became lightning rods during the presidential campaign. Mr. Trump has always criticized the company and demanded the reopening of Lordstown.

Tim Ryan, a congressman from Ohio, represents Lordstown and fights for the Democratic president.

GM has plants in the states of Michigan, Ohio, New York, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Indiana and Kansas.

In addition to US production of GM vehicles and parts, shutting down production will likely prevent the company from manufacturing vehicles in Canada and Mexico. This would mean fewer vehicles for consumers among the lots of dealers and it would be impossible to build specially commissioned cars and trucks.

Analysts at Cox Automotive said GM had enough vehicles on the dealership's lots to last about 77 days at the current pace of sales. This is well above the industry average, which is 61. However, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban sport utility vehicles, which generate a lot of money for the company, are well below the average sector.

This year's talks have been overshadowed by a growing federal investigation into corruption who caught a senior union official on Thursday. Vance Pearson, head of a regional office based near St. Louis, was charged with ploy to hijack union money and spend money on liquor, golf clubs, cigars and Chic stays in California. It is the same region that headed UAW President Gary Jones, before occupying the leadership position of the union last year. Jones himself was touched by the investigation, which prompted some union members to ask him to resign, but he was not charged.

This year's discussions between the union and GM were tense from the start, largely due to GM's plan to close four US plants, including Hamtramck, as well as Lordstown and Warren factories, Michigan and Baltimore.

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 the four factories that have to close. GM currently has too much production capacity in the United States, especially for the construction of slower-selling cars.

– Companies want to fill the labor cost gap with workers factories managed by foreign builders. GM pays $ 63 an hour in wages and benefits, compared with $ 50 in foreign-owned plants. GM's gap is the largest at $ 13 an hour, according to figures from the Center for Automotive Research.

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