After 20 straight days of negotiations, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union said it would strike General Motors Corp yesterday morning if a new contract agreement is not reached, saying the automaker has failed to address job security and other concerns.
"We're shocked and disappointed that General Motors has failed to recognize and appreciate what our membership has contributed during the past four years," UAW president Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement early yesterday.
The union had been expected to ask General Motors for guarantees of future production at US plants as part of the negotiations.
The union had set the strike deadline for 11am yesterday. Cal Rapson, the union's chief General Motors negotiator, said the union would remain at the bargaining table until the deadline.
He said the company had failed to meet the needs and concerns of the union members.
"Instead, in 2007 company executives continued to award themselves bonuses while demanding that our members accept a reduced standard of living," Rapson said in a statement.
"The company's disregard for our members has forced our bargaining committee to take this course of action," he said.
General Motors spokesman Dan Flores said the automaker is working with the union to resolve issues.
"The contract talks involve complex, difficult issues that affect the job security of our US work force and the long term viability of the company," Flores said.
"We are fully committed to working with the UAW to develop solutions together to address the competitive challenges facing General Motors," he said.
The union may be trying to pressure General Motors to get a deal.
Gettelfinger said as recently as on Friday that the union was trying to speed up negotiations and did not want to strike.
UAW has not called a nationwide strike during contract negotiations since 1976, when Ford Motor Co plants were shut down. There were strikes at two General Motors plants during contract negotiations in 1996.
It represents 73,000 General Motors workers at 82 US facilities nationwide. If workers go on strike, they will be paid US$200 a week plus medical benefits from the union strike fund.
The union had more than US$800 million in the fund as of last November, its Web site said.
UAW's original deadline to reach an agreement with GM was Sept. 14, but the union decided to extend the contract on an hour-by-hour basis and keep talking.
It was widely believed that the negotiators were making progress and a strike would not be called.
A local UAW official said on Sunday that negotiators had wrapped up work on most issues and were determining how much money General Motors must put into a trust fund for retiree healthcare that will be managed by the union.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
The healthcare fund -- known as a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association (VEBA) -- would be a significant change for the auto industry and has been the major issue in this year's negotiations. General Motors has approximately US$51 billion in unfunded retiree health care costs but the company is not required to put the full amount into the VEBA.
The union and General Motors have been wrangling over how much GM should put in and how much can be paid in cash or in stock.
The union picked General Motors as the lead company and potential strike target in the negotiations, which began in July. Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC have indefinitely extended their contracts with the union.
They are expected to match many of the terms of GM's agreement once it is reached. The three automakers have a total of US$90 billion in unfunded retiree health care costs.
If a tentative agreement is reached, local union leaders will meet for a briefing and then present the contract to their members. Any agreement would have to be ratified by a majority of General Motors' UAW members.
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday decided to shelve proposed legislation that would give elected officials full control over their stipends, saying it would wait for a consensus to be reached before acting. KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) last week proposed amendments to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) and the Regulations on Allowances for Elected Representatives and Subsidies for Village Chiefs (地方民意代表費用支給及村里長事務補助費補助條例), which would give legislators and councilors the freedom to use their allowances without providing invoices for reimbursement. The proposal immediately drew criticism, amid reports that several legislators face possible charges of embezzling fees intended to pay
REQUIREMENTS: The US defense secretary must submit a Taiwan security assistance road map and an appraisal of Washington’s ability to respond to Indo-Pacific conflict The US Congress has released a new draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes up to US$1 billion in funding for Taiwan-related security cooperation next year. The version published on Sunday by US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson removed earlier language that would have invited Taiwan to participate in the US-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). A statement on Johnson’s Web page said the NDAA “enhances U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies.” The bill would require the US secretary of defense to “enable fielding of uncrewed and anti-uncrewed systems capabilities”
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
RSS