While a completed deal is still likely about two weeks away, a tentative agreement has been reached today between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union which should end the month-long strike that kept picketers on the streets dating back to mid-September.
Details, as is usually the case in agreements like this, have not been revealed yet, but Wall Street is expecting the union’s nearly 50,000 workers to get pay increases and bonus money as part of the deal.
UAW Vice President Terry Dittes said in a statement: “The number one priority of the national negotiation team has been to secure a strong and fair contract that our members deserve.” The union is already on record as encouraging union members to take the deal when it is fully disclosed.
Leaders from the United Auto Workers are slated to meet tomorrow, Thursday, October 17th, to go over all of the details hammered out in the negotiating process with General Motors officials.
GM CEO Mary Barra entered the fray yesterday and says that the strike has already cost the company more than a billion dollars in lost business and other costs associated with the strike. Her team confirmed that a deal had been negotiated, only adding, “details will be provided at the appropriate time.”
Rank-and-file union members are expected to get their say when a vote comes in the next two weeks. Whether or not they remain on the picket line or get back to work during the voting process remains to be seen, inasmuch as a tentative agreement is never guaranteed to win the nod of the workers. Stay tuned.
