the UAW on Friday said General Motors is "playing games," a day after the automaker complained that the union is going too slowly in talks to end its 26-day strike.
The strike has made things tough for both sides, and as the situation drags on, it only becomes more difficult. UAW members continue to live on strike pay that equals $250 per week. GM has shut down production at multiple Mexican plants as parts shortages force manufacturing to grind to a halt. The work stoppage in Mexico has affected transmission assembly and production of its ever-important pickup trucks. It's rumored the strike will also delay the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray's launch.
The automaker has decided to appeal directly to employees via a blog post that laid out the terms of its latest offer.
The statement read, “The strike has been hard on you, your families, our communities, the Company, our suppliers and dealers. We have advised the Union that it’s critical that we get back to producing quality vehicles for our customers. (…) Our offer builds on the winning formula we have all benefitted from over the past several years.”
Side affect of the stike? The US Govt is losing hundreds of millions of dollars a week in lost tax revenue... and if that sounds like an odd thing to bring up, the govt realized about 60 years ago to weigh the affect of actions vs tax revenue, when it drafted Elvis. If he'd been left out of the military, he'd have made a lot of money, and the govt would get it's share. In the military, he made no money, the govt took a hit in the wallet because of that. Similarly, Muhammad Ali was banned from boxing in the USA, and the govt lost money on that...
well, the longer the strike goes on, the less money the govt gets.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/2019/10/11/gm-strike-status-national-costs/3946068002/
The report by the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor said the UAW strike that would enter its fifth week Monday is costing GM some $450 million per week in lost revenue. That estimate is roughly in line with estimates from other other analysts.
https://www.powernationtv.com/post/gm-reaches-out-directly-to-uaw-workers
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/gm-uaw-strike-negotiations/
the UAW issued a public response around noon. It said the members stand behind their negotiators and continue to hold out for a good contract. The statement also criticized GM's handling of negotiations.
"At every step of the way, GM has attempted to undermine the ongoing, good-faith efforts the UAW has made to end this strike," said Brian Rothenberg, UAW spokesman in a statement to the media.
"The company’s strategy from day one has been to play games at the expense of the workers," said Rothenberg. "It has released half-truths, ripped away health care in the middle of the night and it reverted to previously weak and unacceptable proposals in response to the UAW’s comprehensive solutions."
UAW members want to return to work, but, "GM is purposefully stalling the process to starve UAW-GM workers off the picket lines to protect millions of dollars of corporate bonuses. This strike has been and continues to be about securing the American workers’ future."
On the other hand
The UAW strike may force credit raters to move the company closer to junk status, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
The strike has passed the two-week threshold that raters including Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings had said posed downside risk.
In an Oct. 9 report, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Joel Levington wrote that the “fuse is burning” for ratings that, in Moody’s case, are just one notch above junk.
Last week, Moody’s said it was considering downgrading GM bonds to junk status. That rattled some because it means "GM would have to pay higher interest on borrowing, and that is a real cost to continuing this strike," Shaiken said in a previous Free Press interview.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2019/10/11/gm-strike-uaw-letter/3941512002/