UAW Sets Midnight Deadline for GM Tentative Deal

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

11:59 p.m. Sunday.

That’s when the union said Saturday that their contract with General Motors will be terminated and they should be looking at a tentative deal outlining their labor conditions for the next four years.

The contract between the UAW and GM originally expired Sept. 14, but was extended as the UAW targeted Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to set the tone for the rest of the contract negotiations.

“We are working with them to address the issues and remain committed to obtaining an agreement that is good for employees and the business,” GM said.

While no strike has been threatened, workers at GM’s Fort Wayne, Indiana truck plant are ready to hit the picket line, said Brian Hartman, president of Fort Wayne’s UAW local.

The union represents 52,600 workers at GM, reported Automotive News.

Last week, the UAW announced GM would be the next target for negotiations, leaving Ford last.

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  • Mikey Mikey on Oct 25, 2015

    HDC ...... If a robot blows a hydraulic line, you looking at stopped assembly line. The trades will get on it , pretty fast. Sometimes, though $hit happens , could be 45 mins, maybe more. If a worker drops dead ( I've seen it twice) .....within 5 mins , were up and running.

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    • 28-Cars-Later 28-Cars-Later on Oct 25, 2015

      @Ronnie Schreiber "I do commercial embroidery, with a four-head machine." Ronnie's uniforms and more?

  • Mikey Mikey on Oct 25, 2015

    Oh .....I'm still here HDC ! ......I'm more of a lurker , these days, but I do read most of the comments. I've been out of the plant for nearly 7 years now. I'm sure that the automation of today, is far more advanced , than it was in my day. However I think I'm confident in saying , that if was possible to fully "automate " an assembly plant., somebody would be doing it.

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    • Highdesertcat Highdesertcat on Oct 25, 2015

      @mikey Yup, there's always next year. We had hoped to go to Florida next Spring for Yankees Spring Training, but I think that's shot all to hell now that my youngest sister sold her properties there and moved to the outskirts of Tel Aviv to be with her husband (and his adult children). Such is life. Those (who can) are seeking nirvana elsewhere. My other sister, formerly of Seattle, has moved to Vancouver, BC, earlier this year, to be with her husband who unherited his parents' house, and she hasn't been back to the states in a coon's age.

  • Altair7 Altair7 on Oct 25, 2015

    NASA demonstrated close to 60 years ago that, with enough repetitive training and appropriate reinforcement (both positive and negative), chimpanzees could be adapted to perform complex tasks onboard a Mercury space capsule. The so-called "skilled workers" of the UAW are not as far removed from this scenario as they would like everyone to believe.

    • Scwmcan Scwmcan on Oct 25, 2015

      And just what type of "skilled" work do you do that can't be out sourced or automated? Have you even worked in a factory environment to pass judgment on those who work there. In our plant 90% of the new hires and quite a few of the older worker ( with about 30 years in) have college and/or university degrees. Perhaps some factory workers are more educated than you think and would rather be working making a decent wage even if not in their field , rather than making less money in their field ( and with even less security than they cut in manufacturing). Who are you to pass judgment on people just trying to earn a living the best they can. Why so much hate for what are mostly decent hard working people? I can agree that the UAW went too far in the past, but most if not all of the stupid rules are gone ( job banks and very restrictive job duties for example).. And don't forget that there are indeed skilled trades that are part of the Union as well.

  • Mikey Mikey on Oct 25, 2015

    Chimpanzees .......? Nice ...real classy . ..On that happy note, I'm outa here.

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    • Scwmcan Scwmcan on Oct 26, 2015

      @el scotto Excuse me but I was not the one who started making disparaging remarks about people, and for that matter how is stating that there are you few jobs that cannot be outsourced or be done cheaper by someone else ( the exact same wording used by the comment I was relying to) me ranting ? As for contempt I believe the OP I was replying to with his chimpanzee comment was showing a lot more contempt than anything I stated. I have nothing but respect for hard working people in any field, why not try showing the same ? As you don't know what the job market is like in my area, why don't you keep your assumption about my work ethic and respect for fellow employees for yourself. I am a hard working employee, who is just trying to make the best living he can, but you won't believe hat because I now work at a Union assembly plant, By the way this is my first Union job ever and I am not 100% enamored with the union way, and I don't believe everything the union or the company tells us ( the truth is usually in the middle somewhere). In any case I don't normally write replys to posts on these topics but Altair7's comments were really out there and I felt need to be addressed. Sorry if my views don't agree with yours but there are two sides to everything and I can see now that there are very few people here who are interested in hearing more than their own.

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