Depending on the length of the strike, it could cost General Motors hundreds of millions of dollars. The last time the union declared a strike at GM was in 2007. The two-day work stoppage was estimated to have cost the Detroit automaker more than $300 million a day, according to CNBC News.
The strike announcement was made by UAW Vice President Terry Dittes, who oversees the union’s GM unit, at a press conference Sunday morning in Detroit.
Dittes said the strike was the union’s “last resort,” and the union did not make this decision lightly. He did not take questions after the remarks.
Brian Rothenberg, a spokesman for the union, said the union does not believe a deal will be reached to avoid a strike. He said upward of 200 or so local union leaders unanimously voted for the strike. The union let its contract with GM expire on Saturday, raising the possibility of a strike.
In a letter to union members Saturday night, Dittes said there remained “many outstanding issues” that negotiators still need to reconcile, including “differences between the parties on wages, health care benefits, temporary employees, job security and profit-sharing.” The listed issues were expected to be some of the most difficult in the negotiations.
Added to the difficulty of reaching an equitable resolution to the strike is the allegations against UAW Region 5 Director Vance Pearson, a member of the union’s International Executive Board, by federal officials Thursday with embezzlement of union funds.
Agents from the FBI, IRS and Labor Department had searched Jones’ home late last month, an FBI spokesman confirmed to CNN. While Jones was not named in the government’s indictment, he is referred to as “UAW Official A.”
GM wouldn’t comment on whether or not it believes the union scandal will affect its negotiations. “GM is outraged and deeply concerned by the conduct of union officials as uncovered by the government’s investigation and the expanding charges,” it said in a statement.
