[ad_1]
In letters to GM on Saturday evening and to 46,000 hourly workers at 31 GM factories and 21 other factories across the country, the union said no strike would be called until at least one union leaders' meeting was held. GM (GM).
Discussions have progressed, but there remain "significant differences between the parties with respect to wages, health care benefits, temporary employees, job security and profit sharing," told members Terry Dittes, vice-president of the union responsible for negotiations.
These problems suggest that it will be difficult to reach an agreement in time to avoid a strike, said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of labor relations and economics of the Center for Automotive Research, a group of reflection of Michigan.
"You can not solve one of these problems without solving all the problems," she said.
If the union goes on strike, it will be the first action of this type against a US manufacturer since 2007 and the largest against any American company at that time.
In a statement, a statement accused GM of "refusing" to pass the Americans who work hard before their record profits of 35 billion dollars in North America during the last three years.
"We are united in our efforts to reach an agreement that our members and their families deserve," he added.
GM, the largest US automaker, said in a statement that it was ready to work tirelessly to try to reach an agreement to create "a solid future for our employees and our company".
"We continue to work tirelessly to find solutions to very difficult problems," said the company statement. "There are thousands of GM families and their communities – and thousands more at our dealerships and suppliers – who rely on us for their livelihoods."
The union had previously extended contracts with two other US manufacturers with UAW contracts, Ford (F) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU)because it was aimed at GM in order to reach an agreement defining a model for the sector. Dittes' letter stated that if membership would remain active for the time being, there would be no long-term extension of the GM contract.
Discussions continued Saturday night until the midnight approach. But Dittes' letter to GM indicated that the union's executive committee would meet at midnight, before the union's separate meeting scheduled for Sunday morning.
The three automakers are facing a slowdown in sales and the need for huge multi-billion dollar investments in the development of autonomous electric vehicles with longer-term potential than current market demand.
To save money through these efforts, GM has already ended its operations in three US plants – two transmission plants and one assembly line in Lordstown, Ohio. She plans to close another assembly line in Detroit, her last factory in Detroit, early next year.
The UAW has promised to win GM's agreement at the bargaining table to maintain all or at least some of these plants.
But negotiations took place, the union being hit by a scandal involving embezzlement of union funds and, in some cases, union leaders accepting bribes from Fiat Chrysler officials. Nine people associated with the union or Fiat Chrysler have already pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Earlier in the week, the Detroit News reported that union president, Gary Jones, was the unnamed union official identified in the most recent indictment as "UAW Official". The union did not respond to a request for comment on this report.
Experts say the scandal will make it more difficult for union leaders to ratify union members of automakers. Four years ago, all agreements were only concluded with narrow margins, even though there was no scandal at the time.
Dziczek said the two meetings of union leaders scheduled for Sunday were unusual at this stage of the negotiations. This could be a sign of the tension the scandal is placing the union leadership in these discussions.
"It guarantees everything that is decided, there is a commitment, and they need it," she said.
[ad_2]
Source link
