G.M. Workers Approve Contract and End U.A.W. Strike

If you want to help these workers, buy a GM car in the near future and steer clear of cars made by non-union labor.

Does anyone believe given the current condition of the economy (particularly in manufacturing) that the workers being promised paths to permanent employee status or better wages will ever see them before the business cycle happens?

I'm a non-union carpenter in a largely non-union state, but I'm aware that statistically, my wages benefit from unions' presence in the economy. I've essentially scooped up the trailing benefits of their sacrifices. In an economy of deep, growing, and unearned wealth disparity, any ethical leveling force is a civic good.

Best news in this article: GM contract strengthens hand of union to organize autoworkers in southern US (largely foreign-owned plants).

So many anti-labor comments, presumably from folks who think blue-collar workers should labor for chump change while they get blamed for poor design and bad management decisions. Line workers don't design the product, nor do they get to decide how to extract the most profit from a that product. GM's problems start at the top and can be followed from one bad car to the next.If GM cannot make a profit while giving its workers fair compensation then its business model is flawed and it should cease to exist.

The settlement give workers a yearly salary of $64,000. That's hardly exorbitant. The people saying it is want something for below what it is worth.

The damage is done. There is no reason why the folks didn't go back to go while they were ratifying the contract in the past week except they wanted to show they are in control. This is not partnership. A $2B loss because of the strike at the peak of the auto cycle and the uncertainty of where the auto industry will be heading suggest more downside than upside. These folks need to understand, the reason why GM has been profitable is China. Not N America.

Mary Barr had an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Andrew Carnegie and the Homestead strike and she failed to take it. She could have cut their pay in half and dismissed the the troublemakers. That the UAW’s extortion effort was founded in misogyny makes thus strike doubly offensive. Installing seats and engines in poorly made automobiles doesn’t require four years of study and a six figure investment so there is no justification for the wages that the union conspired to extract.

$31 per hour is a great salary. My uncle worked at the plants in the 1970s when the UAW, in terms of members, was at its zenith.

I am glad for the unions success but now the company and its workers need to start designing and selling compelling and reliable products that stand out from the imports. Ones that receive very high Consumer Report ratings and are priced well. The cars in my driveway are all imports for a reason.

haha. lets see if the stock goes up for GM's. people should never buy Americans company that have unions. let them die.

Will Americans support GM, Ford and Chrysler’s decision to pay wages that are, according to the article, paying wages 2x to 3x that of foreign automakers producing in the USA? Or, will Americans continue to rail against Corporate America for not sharing the wealth while buying products made with cheaper non-union or offshore labor. The economic hypocrisy of the average American is breathtaking.

Yikes, this is awful. This contract makes American automakers that much less competitive with foreign companies.

Congratulations! Well done.

“The health care coverage would be the envy of nearly every worker in America.” Hooray for subsidizing more disease care and less wages!

I’m thrilled for the worker victory. We need to have inions involved in it just manufacturing but in service industries. We also need to allow some level of management and white collar union participation to balance industry strength. In terms of automobiles, a storm is coming that few mention. Electric cars are inevitable. When they happens, the number of workers employed in the auto industry will plummet. With few parts versus gas automobiles very few workers will be needed. Government needs to start now on training workers of Michigan and other areas will look like WV where coal is dying.

The fact is we are seeing the total destruction of a middle class in this country and the grotesque climb of a billionaire corporate class that, like Bezos, takes no responsibility for their community, their country or their success by giving back. The book business retail have been gutted by one man’s insane greed and a government with no plan. Even Amazon’s employees rely on tips to make a sub-standard wage and “contractors” have no benefits. This from a man who pays nothing back in tax or charitable contributions to the very country who has helped him succeed. Next are autonomous cars which will further decimate our economy by putting more people out of work. Corporations lo Zuckerberg is also a glaring and horrifying example of the new strain of elites whose one idea catapulted him to a place in history without peers but also, seemingly, without a conscience. The model is based on that of a pimp who preys on unsuspecting girls and boys and freely uses them up, ultimately entrapping them in a sadistic world and, in some cases, killing them. This is our new reality. We are for sale. We now have to worry whether Z’s unfounded fear of Warren’s sane position that Facebook needs regulation is enough to make him throw the vote by allowing political deceit and lies to move freely on his platform. If we do not cultivate a genuine empathy for our fellow human beings, our community, and strive to rid ourselves of inequality, our grand idea will die sooner than we think

Just moved into a retirement village as my wife has Parkinson’s. Only people living there are retired teachers, cops and government employees. Nobody else has pensions and health care like them!

Actually, to people who understand organizational and specifically union affairs, 57% in favor really means that a good majority opposed the contract. However, not enough of the “middle” was convinced that with the existing (essentially pro-company) UAW leadership, holding out would lead to a better result. What the result indicates is that one of the most organized and historically militant sections of industrial America wants to fight for what they need. They just want (and need) a leadership willing to lead and organize it effectively.

GM loved this strike. GM has a huge inventory of unsold vehicles. Due to the strike, GM got to sell-down that inventory at little or no cost to them. If GM had laid off the workers the workers would still collect some pay. When they strike they don't get paid at all except by their union. The UAW did GM a favor.

So happy for the UAW leadership and the rank and file members. A job very well done. The healthcare plan should be a model for all employers to use when providing benefits. Employees spend so much time at work that having a good employer paid benefit should be the norm. Those companies that whine about cost should form consortiums and approach health insurance providers as a large group which can bring significant savings. At the end of the day, good healthcare is possible for everyone if it is truly the goal.

Glad the union got off the closed plant issue. All laid off UAW workers have the option to work at other GM facilities. I'm a GM retiree and lived and worked in 4 different states during my career. It was scary for a 50-something to relocate from Oklahoma to Michigan, having never lived there before but turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. And before that moving from Kansas City to Oklahoma City was a great growing up experience. We liked it so much we've stayed here even though we could now easily move "home" to KC. Best to both the UAW and GM management, glad the long 2019 strike is over.

We have seen the best and the worst from labor. We have seen the worst: corruption in the UAW. And you have seen the best: working class fighting and winning against a very powerful corporation. Remember what a GM'S CEO said: "For years I thought that what was good for our country was good for General Motors and vice versa." It was said by Charles Erwin Wilson whom became Secretary of Defense in the Eisenhower Administration in 1953.

Three more American factories shut down. So Sad. Convert them to solar panel, battery or wind power factories.

Unions impede progress. Full stop.

"Health care terms are unchanged, with workers paying about 3 percent of the cost, well below the portion paid by G.M.’s salaried employees." You think these people will support Medicare for all! Ha Ha Ha! Good luck with that one!

Woody Guthrie , Pete Seeger are singin' in their graves! "I'm sticking with the union" 3 cheers.

Great! Labor needs some victories they and communities have lost so much over decades in so many ways such as the of transfer of production to foreign lands to exploit labor, the rise of temp contractors and dodging regulations that protect communities from environmental degradations. If the newer tech workers would unionize internationally rich & poor could begin to stabilize and expand quality of living standards universally. SpreadIng opportunities not restricting them is key.

Once upon a time, long ago I was a union member. The workers in the Union I belonged to were concerned with educating our children so that we would have a future. Unions work because, while there is strength in huge sums of money, there is strength in uniting people for the good of working people. I hope and pray that this agreement works for the parties involved and for America.

“The health care coverage would be the envy of nearly every worker in America.” And how much more competitive would GM products be all over the world if the exorbitant cost of U.S. health care wasn't written in to the costs of their cars and trucks? It confounds me that the people that run and own major stock in these companies aren't working with the majority of the American people to try to get our government to bring reasonable efficiency to our health care system. A terrible testament to the idea that capitalism polices itself. Warren or Sanders in 2020.

I'm glad it's over -- a strike this long is so hard on workers and their families. (Know from experience of my father years ago.) To the extent, however, that this may herald a strengthening of the labor movement in this country, I'm thrilled it has worked out and set an example for other industries and sectors of the economy (or states in the union) in which labor is at such a disadvantage these days.

I'm glad this is over. I usually side w Labor when a strike happens, but in this case, I thought Labor was entitled and oblivious to the national decline of car sales and the rise of public transportation. It was a no--win situation but I hope some good will come out of this strike anyway.