UAW Increases Strike Pay for GM Factory Workers
October 12 2019 - 6:23PM
Dow Jones News
By Nora Naughton
The United Auto Workers is increasing its weekly payout to
General Motors Co. workers on strike, a sign the union is preparing
to extend a nearly monthlong walkout that has halted work at the
company's U.S. factories.
The UAW said Saturday more than 46,000 hourly workers on the
picket line will see weekly strike pay increase to $275 from $250
starting Sunday. The union also said it would lift a restriction on
members seeking part-time work, so now they can get a temporary job
and still receive full strike pay.
The money is paid to workers out of the UAW's strike and defense
fund, which the union typically taps during a work stoppage to ease
the financial impact on members. The strike pay, however, is still
a fraction of their normal take-home pay. GM's striking workers
missed their third company paycheck Friday.
As the walkout drags on, some workers say they are stressed
about monthly bills and worried about the chillier weather in the
Midwest while they are outside on the picket lines.
Contract talks slowed earlier this week with both the union and
company blaming each other in dueling public statements for what
they described as tactics to hold up negotiations.
The union's strike fund exceeded $750 million heading into
contract talks this summer, giving it a sizable amount of money to
pay workers during the work-stoppage.
UAW leaders increased strike pay in March to $250 a week and had
planned to raise it again to $275 a week in January, an early sign
the union was preparing for a walkout.
As the union prepares workers for a longer strike, UAW Vice
President Terry Dittes signaled progress in a letter to members
Friday night, saying the sides were close to a tentative agreement.
The UAW that day had provided a counter-offer to a deal GM
presented Monday, wrote Mr. Dittes, the union's lead bargainer with
GM.
The Detroit auto maker, having received the union's offer, was
discussing the proposal with UAW bargainers Saturday, an indication
that talks were moving again after stalling earlier in the week,
according to a person familiar with the talks.
GM executives were frustrated with the union earlier this week
after UAW bargainers waited four days to respond to a proposal it
had put forth on Monday. The auto maker Friday morning appealed
directly to factory workers with details of its latest offer.
In a letter to GM's U.S. employees Friday, GM's global
manufacturing chief Gerald Johnson said the proposal included a
clear path to full-time work for temporary employees and pay
increases in each of the contract's four years.
GM also said it would boost the planned investment in U.S.
facilities to roughly $9 billion, up from the $7 billion in an
earlier proposal made public just before the strike began,
according to another person familiar with the offer.
The extended walkout, now nearing the end of its fourth week, is
taking a financial toll on both sides and rippling out into the
broader economy. The work stoppage at more than 30 of GM's U.S.
factories has also triggered shutdowns of GM plants in Canada and
Mexico.
The lost production and other disruption from the work stoppage
has cost GM roughly $1.5 billion so far, according to an estimate
Friday from Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 12, 2019 18:08 ET (22:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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