TXBlackout03
09-24-2007, 04:53 PM
http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/24/news/companies/gm_uaw_strikedeadline/index.htm?cnn=yes
The United Auto Workers union launched a nationwide strike against General Motors on Monday as 73,000 UAW members walked off the job and hit the picket lines at the nation's largest automaker.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger blasted GM management, saying that the company had not been willing to meet the union part way in negotiations.
"This is nothing we wanted," he said about the strike. "No one benefits in a strike. But there comes a point where someone can push you off a cliff. That's what happened here."
Union leaders said they were willing to resume negotiations early Monday afternoon, several hours after the strike started at 11 a.m. As of 2:30 p.m., neither side would confirm that negotiators had returned to the table.
Gettelfinger said the union was ready to discuss the company's key bargaining goal of shifting an estimated $51 billion in health care expenses for retirees and their family members to union-controlled trust funds. But he said that other issues had derailed hopes of an agreement.
The union president said he was looking for assurances from the company about the job security of UAW members. He said he wanted guarantees about how much GM would invest in U.S. plants and about how many new vehicles would be built in the United States.
The UAW has seen its membership at GM plummet by 70 percent since 1994, as the automaker dumped its parts unit and closed plants to try to align its production more in line with its shrinking U.S. market share
I work for GM in the Global Informations department. I can tell you that there are tons of people talking about this and are not worrying about it at all. If anything, we are all glad this has happened in some part because we'll finally be ridding the UAW from us.
They expect to see something happen and all of us bend over like we did in the 70's and give them everything they want. Yeah, right.
This may be the last straw that broke the back for the UAW because the upper execs are pissed. There is talks already of hiring non-union workers to replace those who walked in the next couple of weeks.
I have no respect for these people, especially in times when GM isn't exactally having the best of times. They talk about brand loyalty all the time but fuck those people. Who is this helping? A buddy of mine who works at Ford was telling me there are rumors that Ford won't even have any discussion with the UAW. The calls coming from GM Europe are telling us "good riddance", today is a good day.
Edit: "These people" refer to the Union executives, not the hard workers. I respect them.
The United Auto Workers union launched a nationwide strike against General Motors on Monday as 73,000 UAW members walked off the job and hit the picket lines at the nation's largest automaker.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger blasted GM management, saying that the company had not been willing to meet the union part way in negotiations.
"This is nothing we wanted," he said about the strike. "No one benefits in a strike. But there comes a point where someone can push you off a cliff. That's what happened here."
Union leaders said they were willing to resume negotiations early Monday afternoon, several hours after the strike started at 11 a.m. As of 2:30 p.m., neither side would confirm that negotiators had returned to the table.
Gettelfinger said the union was ready to discuss the company's key bargaining goal of shifting an estimated $51 billion in health care expenses for retirees and their family members to union-controlled trust funds. But he said that other issues had derailed hopes of an agreement.
The union president said he was looking for assurances from the company about the job security of UAW members. He said he wanted guarantees about how much GM would invest in U.S. plants and about how many new vehicles would be built in the United States.
The UAW has seen its membership at GM plummet by 70 percent since 1994, as the automaker dumped its parts unit and closed plants to try to align its production more in line with its shrinking U.S. market share
I work for GM in the Global Informations department. I can tell you that there are tons of people talking about this and are not worrying about it at all. If anything, we are all glad this has happened in some part because we'll finally be ridding the UAW from us.
They expect to see something happen and all of us bend over like we did in the 70's and give them everything they want. Yeah, right.
This may be the last straw that broke the back for the UAW because the upper execs are pissed. There is talks already of hiring non-union workers to replace those who walked in the next couple of weeks.
I have no respect for these people, especially in times when GM isn't exactally having the best of times. They talk about brand loyalty all the time but fuck those people. Who is this helping? A buddy of mine who works at Ford was telling me there are rumors that Ford won't even have any discussion with the UAW. The calls coming from GM Europe are telling us "good riddance", today is a good day.
Edit: "These people" refer to the Union executives, not the hard workers. I respect them.