---

Statement by UAW Vice President Regarding GM's Court Filing

15 July 1998

Statement by UAW Vice President Richard Shoemaker Regarding GM's Court Filing Today

    DETROIT, July 14 -- The following is a statement by UAW Vice
President Richard Shoemaker regarding GM's court filing today:

    "Given that GM is well aware that UAW Locals 659 and 651 have acted
entirely within their rights in striking two of the corporation's facilities
in Flint, and given that the UAW has not in this case, or in any other,
refused to arbitrate issues as provided for by the agreement, we can only
assume that this lawsuit has been filed more for its Wall Street PR value than
anything else.
    "Unfortunately, today's court filing does nothing to move us any closer
toward resolving the outstanding issues that are still before us.  And since
Paragraph 53 of the national agreement explicitly prohibits either party from
going to court as a way of circumventing the integrity of the grievance
procedure and the collective bargaining process, it sends yet another message
that the corporation wishes to comply with its contractual agreements only
when it suits its purposes to do so."

    Note:  Powers of the Umpire, Paragraph 53 -- of the UAW-GM national
agreement contains the following paragraph:

    "Neither the Corporation, nor the Union, nor any employee or group of
employees, may initiate or cause to be initiated or press any court action
claiming or alleging a violation of this Agreement or any local or other
agreement amendatory or supplemental hereto, where such claim is also the
subject matter of a grievance which is then open at any step of this grievance
procedure."