Union allows GM’s contract to expire, raising odds of a strike

Bloomberg

The United Auto Workers (UAW) let its contract with General Motors Co expire after unsuccessful talks over an extension, setting the stage for a strike by the union’s 46,000 US workers.
The UAW said it will work without a contract while it decides on a course of action. It had been bargaining with the largest US automaker before a midnight deadline.
Terry Dittes, vice president of the union’s GM Department, said in a letter to local union leaders across the country that negotiators had “significant differences.” Issues included wages, health-care benefits, the use of temporary employees, job security and profit sharing, according to a letter, which was obtained by Bloomberg.
“While we are fighting for better wages, affordable quality health care, and job security, GM refuses to put hard-working Americans ahead of their record profits of $35 billion in North America over the last three years,” Dittes said. “We are united in our efforts to get an agreement our members and their families deserve.”
If the two sides are close to getting a deal, the union typically extends the existing contract and continues bargaining. Letting it expire means the union could walk out, though Dittes said any workers scheduled for a Sunday shift would have to report to work. The union’s bargaining committee was scheduled to meet at midnight and talk to local union leaders in Detroit to decide whether to walk out.
GM had said it would work through the night to get a deal.
“We continue to work hard on solutions to some very difficult challenges,” GM spokesman David Barnas said in a statement. “We are prepared to negotiate around the clock because there are thousands of GM families and their communities — and many thousands more at our dealerships and suppliers — counting on us for their livelihood. Our goal remains on building a strong future for our employees and our business.”
GM has meanwhile been under attack by President Donald Trump for scaling back its US workforce and idling plants in the key electoral battleground states of Michigan and Ohio.
A deal between the UAW and GM would have set a precedent for the jobs, wages and benefits that the union demands from Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. The UAW hasn’t said which carmaker it will target next for bargaining over a new contract. The UAW extended contracts with Ford and Fiat Chrysler this week.
GM angered the UAW and Trump by shutting down its Chevrolet Cruze compact car plant in Lordstown, Ohio, and scheduling the end of production at another factory in Hamtramck, near Detroit, for January.