UAW and GM Reach Tentative Accord on 3-year Collective Bargaining Agreement

11/05/96

Reuters reported that on Saturday the United Auto Workers union and GM reached a tentative agreement for the 1996-1999 tentative bargaining agreement that spells out the rights and responsibilities of 215,000 GM employees in the U.S.

The agreement came at the tail end of several days of intense negotiations and cleared the way for workers striking at two plants (Janesville, WI and Indianapolis, IN) to resolve the local conflicts that triggered the strikes and possibly return to work. UAW President Stephen Yokich warned, however, that the two local strikes will continue until their particular issues can be resolved: "Quite frankly the two that have walked out have a heavy agenda on the table and I think they've got a lot of work."

Details of the national contract were not immediately available, although reportedly the last hours of discussions concerned a list of plants that GM wants to exclude from the employment guarantees that the union sought.

Under the new contracts that the UAW forged with Chrysler and Ford this fall, both automakers agreed to guarantee jobs for 95 percent of their current hourly workforce. GM has resisted any such gaurantee.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel