UAW to GM: ‘We invested in you, now it’s your turn’
As union talks kick off with the second of three major US automakers, labour representatives are driving a hard bargain.
General Motors Company (GM) and the United Automobile Workers (UAW) labour union have formally kicked off contract talks, with the union’s president calling on the automaker to keep open plants it has slated for closure.
On Tuesday, UAW President Gary Jones asked GM to invest in its workforce after the union helped it through a government-led bankruptcy a decade ago.
“We invested in you, now it’s your turn to invest in us,” Jones said at a joint event with GM executives in downtown Detroit.
This year’s talks on a new four-year contract between the union and the Detroit automaker are expected to be contentious, as auto sales in the United States are slowing after a long boom.
Rising healthcare costs, job security and the use of temporary workers are also expected to be major sticking points.
‘Invest in Lordstown’
GM, in particular, has been a target of union ire since announcing the closure of five North American plants late last year.
That move drew widespread condemnation, including from US President Donald Trump. Criticism has persisted despite GM’s stated efforts to seek jobs at other plants for all displaced workers.
Workers from GM’s Lordstown, Ohio, plant, wearing red shirts emblazoned with “Invest in Lordstown” greeted UAW officials with applause as they arrived at the event on Tuesday.
GM is in talks to sell the Lordstown plant to electric vehicle startup Workhorse Group Inc and another buyer.
Workers in Lordstown built the Chevrolet Cruze, a sedan, sales of which had plummeted in the last few years as Americans abandoned passenger cars in favour of larger, more comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs.
GM Chief Executive Mary Barra said in remarks before a formal handshake with Jones that the pace of change in the auto industry has intensified, with automakers investing heavily in the race to develop electric vehicles and self-driving cars.
“We are not here just to survive … We are here to win,” said Barra, referring to her hopes for future growth and jobs.
The UAW and Ford Motor Co officially launched negotiations on Monday, as Jones struck a similarly adversarial tone – vowing that workers should share in automakers’ profits and prevent jobs being outsourced to Mexico or China.
The union and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will formally launch talks later on Tuesday.