UAW strike comes as a shock
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FLINT, Mich. � The bright sunshine, unseasonably warm weather and honks from supportive passersby helped energize United Auto Workers strikers outside three General Motors plants here who found themselves suddenly � and surprisingly � walking off the job and onto the picket line Monday. Even as workers shouted and waved blue-and-white “UAW On Strike” placards, they admitted they are unnerved and are willing to make some concessions to help GM cut costs. “I don’t think anyone feels good right now,” said Barb Clay, who has worked at GM for 29 years and has seen her wages and benefits shrink over the years. “It’s terrible. And miserable. But they had to draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough.” Members of the UAW, which represents 73,000 workers at 82 U.S. GM assembly plants, component plants and parts warehouses, walked out moments after the 11 a.m. ET strike deadline. The union set the deadline after it couldn’t come to an agreement with GM on a new contract because of differences on job security, benefits and other issues. It is the first nationwide strike against GM since 1970 and the first against any Detroit automaker since a 1976 nationwide action against Ford Motor. The contract negotiations this year are considered a landmark because Detroit’s automakers, struggling under pressure from foreign competitors, made it clear they needed concessions from the UAW. After negotiating nine days past the expiration of its last four-year contract with GM, the UAW set the strike deadline and told workers to wait to hear from their local leaders. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger began feeling a strike was looming as early as last Thursday, he said in a press conference, when GM stopped bargaining on most issues. Both sides worked through the night Sunday into Monday, but Gettelfinger said GM refused to move its position on all but one issue. “The company walked right up to the deadline like they really didn’t care,” he said. He said job security is his priority, and he stressed that the talks did not break down over a proposed trust to deal with retiree health care, which GM wants to create so it can move about $5.1 billion in costs off its books. “This is very serious, but there’s not a single person here who wanted this to result in a strike,” he said. “There comes a time when you have to draw the line. We were pushed into a strike.” In a statement, GM said it is “disappointed in the UAW’s decision to call a national strike.” “The bargaining involves complex, difficult issues that affect the job security of our U.S. workforce and the long-term viability of the company,” the statement read. “We are fully committed to working with the UAW to develop solutions together to address the competitive challenges facing General Motors.” After a break during the morning, GM and the UAW started talking again. They recessed about 8 p.m. ET and will start again today. Investors did not seem perturbed by the strike. GM shares closed down 20 cents, less than 1%, to $34.74. The price is up 14.8% since the day before the UAW named GM its strike target. Many believed the strike deadline was just a bluff. Or a sign that the UAW was on the verge of signing an agreement with GM. But just after 11 a.m., Don Syring, a worker at the Flint Metal Fabrication plant, saw the tops of an American flag and UAW flag heading down the line, followed by a crowd of people. “I went over to my plant manager and shook his hand and said, ‘I hope I see you soon,’ ” Syring said. “And I got my stuff and walked out.” Syring is living paycheck to paycheck supporting his family and is nervous about how long the strike will last. Just minutes into the strike, he said the union needs to work with the automaker. “It feels good they are fighting for us, but on the same turn, there has to be some give and take.” The strike’s impact could range anywhere from a minor blip on GM’s earnings to the catalyst throwing the whole nation into a recession, industry watchers say. It all depends on how long workers are on strike. GM had a little more than 952,000 vehicles in inventory on dealers’ lots at the beginning of September. That’s about 67 days’ worth of cars and trucks, which is near the industry average and is enough to keep dealers satisfied on many models for at least a month. Overall, buyers and GM dealers probably will go about business as usual. The strike “doesn’t have much affect on what’s happening at this moment,” said Jack Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. The only immediate impact could be on the rare buyer who is dead-set on a particular model and orders it from the factory rather than buying off the lot, Nerad said. Customers coming off a lease may be forced to make another choice if their primary option isn’t available, said Mark McCready of online buying service Carsdirect.com. Otherwise, the strike “is not going to be an issue, unless you are trying to get one of their hot products,” McCready said. “If you were waiting in line for one, you may have to wait longer.” GM will be able to keep some production flowing from plants in Mexico, where workers aren’t represented by the UAW. The automaker, for instance, imports Chevy Suburban SUVs from its plant in Silao, Mexico. But those plants rely on parts made by GM in the USA, so they can’t operate indefinitely. American and Canadian plants are so intertwined, one Canadian transmission plant shut down shortly after the U.S. strike began. Peter Kennedy, a spokesman for the Canadian Auto Workers union, said CAW members won’t join in on the UAW strike. Still, the Oshawa, Ontario, car plant that produces the Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo was to close at 3 a.m. today. Oshawa Plant No. 2, which builds the Pontiac Grand Prix, will close at the end of the day shift today, according to the CAW. A factory at Oshawa that makes the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra can last three more days. The last nationwide action against GM was a 67-day strike in 1970. But smaller walkouts since then have turned into major shutdowns. That’s because automakers have quit the expensive, but previously common, practice of keeping significant inventories of parts. Shifting from large inventories to what’s called just-in-time parts delivery has cut costs, but has made car companies vulnerable to walkouts. |