GM Offer Gets the Cold Shoulder From UAW

by Steph Willems

Updated: July 29th, 2020 Published: October 2nd, 2019

gm offer gets the cold shoulder from uaw

As the GM-UAW strike enters its 17th day, it seems the union representing 48,000 of the automaker’s U.S. workers isn’t about to agree to any concessions.

Earlier this week, the General Motors bargaining team slid an offer across the table, hoping to restore labor peace and flip the switches at its darkened plants. The UAW promptly slid it back.

According to UAW Vice President Terry Dittes, the “comprehensive proposal” floated late Monday night fell far short of what the union’s bargaining team had in mind, claiming it failed to address issues “like health care, wages, temporary employees, skilled trades and job security to name a few.”

Since the outset, the union has repelled any attempt to roll back health insurance coverage while demanding what they see as a fair piece of GM’s loot. At the 11th hour, before pre-strike bargaining talks broke down, the UAW rejected a follow-up proposal after an earlier offer significantly cut back what GM would pay for health coverage.

In his Tuesday letter to members, Dittes said the UAW countered GM’s offer with one of its own.

“We have responded today with a counterproposal and are awaiting GM’s next proposal to the Union. Regardless of what is publicized in print or social media, etc., there are still many important issues that remain unresolved,” Dittes said, alluding to recent media reports that claimed the two sides were drawing close to a deal.

GM has remained tight-lipped on the negotiations and strike, with the last word from the company coming after talks restarted on September 16th. In addition to placing the company’s vast U.S. workforce on $250-per-week strike pay, the walkout has idled some 10,000 workers in Mexico and Canada and left dealers struggling to find replacement parts. Just yesterday, J.P. Morgan estimated the cost to GM at $1 billion.

[Image: General Motors]

#GeneralMotors #GM #LaborAction #Strike #Uaw #UnionNews

Steph Willems

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Dal20402 on Oct 02, 2019

When you have a good union, you trust the union negotiators' decisions, and you can feel pretty sure that if you are on strike then you really needed to strike. That makes it easier to hold out without pay. But if you were a UAW member, would you trust the strike call? IMO leadership of this particular union is too corrupt to justify that kind of faith.

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- Highdesertcat on Oct 02, 2019
  
  More American workers employed right now. Wages rising because of a worker shortage. Fewer unemployed than there are job openings. Yet the UAW wants even more money, more benefits, more of everything and on top of that they want to be guaranteed a job for life. Something is not right here. Vote with your wallet. Vote with your feet. Buy from a non-union transplant.
  
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- Mopar4wd on Oct 02, 2019
  
  @highdesertcat Not knowing what's inside a UAW members head, but I think their biggest concerns are preventing layoffs and that in the recession they gave up a lot on 2nd tier and temp workers. Now that GM's been highly profitable they feel those changes should be reversed. I can see the thinking honestly.
  
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- Highdesertcat on Oct 02, 2019
  
  @mopar4wd I think you are right. Layoffs and job insecurity must be a huge thing to worry about for the UAW right now, what with robotics popping up in more and more factories, plants, and work environments. The future looks bleak for auto assembly workers because robots are not temperamental, don't do drugs or alcohol, don't smoke marijuana, don't need lengthy pee/smoke breaks, and robots are tireless, never lazy and never have a bad day. And robots require no costly health insurance. But if these UAW people are so unhappy with the pay and benefits, and employee discounts, why don't they just get another job, elsewhere, in another industry, like banking, investments, medicine, mining, etc? My grand daughter started full-time work this summer as a Mining Engineer with a BS degree from UTEP, age 22, starting salary $74K, plus bennies, FREE healthcare with Blue Cross of AZ, THREE weeks paid vacation, pay raises every six months for the first year, with annual pay raises after that, AND the option to buy shares in this public company. And I'm guessing much of the work she does in the Open Pit Mining field is more strenuous than that of auto assembly workers. I know I couldn't do it today. Then again, no commitments. Employees are free to quit anytime they're unhappy. Ditto UAW workers. Free to quit!
  
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- MorrisGray on Oct 03, 2019
  
  @highdesertcat Amen brother! Enough said.... Feel free to quit!!!
  
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Schmitt trigger on Oct 02, 2019

What happened to the old Charles "Engine" Wilson's dictum: What is good for GM is good for America?

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