Planned GM Strike Postponed Until Friday

02/28/96

Reuters reported that a strike that was scheduled for Monday morning at 10 has been postponed until Friday. Yesterday news agencies reported that the strike in Dayton, OH had been postponed indefinitely, but that report has been revised.

The workers considering striking belong to UAW Local 696 and work at two GM plants that manufacture braking systems and components for the grand majority of GM trucks and cars produced in the US. A strike would force GM to shut down assembly lines at other plants due to part shortages. A four day strike action by Local 696 in 1994 idled two of GM's most profitable plants and the production of full-size pickup trucks with them.

The workers are currently negotiating about issues that include health and safety and the automaker's desire to shift work to outside production facilities. Workers have postponed the strike because they believe that progress is being made at the bargaining table. Some of the problems they are discussing with GM, however, stem from the automaker's failure to keep promises it made in order to end the 1994 strike.

In 1994 the automaker agreed to invest $160 million in the brake plants between 1994 and 1999. The money was supposed to enable the plant to build new products like an aluminum brake disk caliper and new anti-lock braking systems. They were also supposed to add 323 jobs at the brake plants over three years, and they agreed to drop plans to buy aluminum calipers from an Australian supplier which would shift jobs away from American workers. "They agreed to do it," said a union official, "but they haven't lived up to it."

GM has said that brake production is continuing at a normal pace. Donnie McGuire, Local 696's secretary said that the union will reassess the progress of talks on Friday and make a decision about the strike.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel