- the united auto workers' gm council met today to discuss the details of a proposed settlement that would end the monthlong strike against general motors, according to an automotive news report.
- among items offered are an $11,000 ratification bonus to every full-time employee and $4500 to every temporary employee once the contract is accepted.
- gm also said it will keep the detroit-hamtramck plant open and build a future electric pickup there but will close lordstown, ohio, permanently. however, the automaker promised to add 1000 jobs in battery-cell manufacturing in ohio.
update 10/17/19, 3:30 p.m.: automotive news reports this afternoon that terms are under discussion in the proposed agreement. the uaw's gm council met most of the day today but has not yet issued a recommendation for a vote to ratify. according to the tentative agreement's terms, the hamtramck plant near detroit, which currently employs about 800 people to build the cadillac ct6 and chevrolet impala, would not close as had been planned, and gm will build its future electric pickup truck there; but the assembly plant in lordstown, ohio, along with transmission facilities in michigan and maryland, would close permanently. gm issued a statement to an saying it will pursue plans for battery-cell manufacturing in ohio and that it will invest $9 billion altogether in u.s. plants.
the paper said the new contract would ensure all current employees would be paid at least $32.32 per hour by september 2023; temporary workers would gain "a path to becoming full-time employees"; and profit sharing would not be capped at the current $12,000 per year. health-care coverage would not change, but gm would contribute $1000 to worker pensions for those hired before 2007 who are eligible.
update 10/16/19, 11:30 a.m.: the associated press has reported that the united auto workers and general motors have reached a tentative agreement that still needs to go to a vote, first by union committees and then by the entire union membership. the proposed contract is four years in duration.
the five-week-long strike against general motors appears to have been settled, as uaw chief negotiator terry dittes confirmed to cnn today that a tentative deal has been reached. union leaders from around the country will be converging on detroit for a thursday meeting that had already been announced earlier this week. they must approve the deal and then the full union membership will vote on it. details of what the new contract might contain are not yet available.
cnn noted that workers could remain on strike until the contract is fully ratified, or they could be returning to work sooner than that.
the tuesday reuters report, citing two unnamed people with knowledge of the negotiations, said gm's top leaders, ceo mary barra and president mark reuss, participated in negotiations with united auto workers representatives and were said to be ironing out final details prior to announcing an agreement on wednesday. barra also met with uaw representatives on october 9.
the uaw has been on strike since september 16, and the action has idled about 46,000 workers. areas of disagreement include health-care benefits, wages, protections for temporary workers, and job security as well as the union's demand for an end to importation of gm vehicles made in other countries such as mexico.
the center for automotive research (car) has estimated the cost of the strike at about $450 million per week for gm and $12 million a week for the uaw, which has a fund to pay workers a flat $250 per week while they are on strike.
the wall street journal reported tuesday on some of the content of the negotiations. the paper said that general motors has offered to give workers raises in each of the four years a new contract would cover, distributed in the form of both wage hikes and bonuses. gm has offered amounts in the 3 percent to 4 percent range per year, the paper said. gm also has proposed to reduce how many years a newly hired employee must work in order to qualify for the top $30 per hour wage.
this story will be updated as new information becomes available.