- Title: GM switches health insurance costs to union for striking workers; talks continue
- Date: 17th September 2019
- Summary: STRIKING UAW WORKERS HOLDING SIGNS ALONG EMPTY ROAD AS MUSIC PLAYS STRIKING UAW WORKERS STANDING IN FRONT OF CAR ON ROAD
- Embargoed: 1st October 2019 21:05
- Keywords: General Motors United Auto Workers strike nationwide
- Location: BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY, UNITED STATES
- City: BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA002AX1SB47
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: General Motors shifted health insurance costs for its striking workers to the United Auto Workers union as its members walked the picket line for the second day on Tuesday (September 17).
The UAW on Monday launched the first company-wide strike at GM in 12 years, saying negotiations toward a new national agreement covering about 48,000 hourly workers had hit an impasse.
This year's talks between the union and GM, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) were expected to be tough, with thorny issues such as healthcare costs, profit-sharing and the use of temporary workers on the table.
Negotiations between GM and the union resumed on Tuesday morning.
Workers on picket lines outside GM factories waved signs declaring "UAW On Strike." In Bowling Green, Kentucky, they blocked the three entrances to the assembly plant, which normally builds the Chevrolet Corvette.
GM said coverage for the striking workers' health insurance reverted to the union, which unsuccessfully sought to have the No. 1 U.S. automaker cover those costs through the end of the month. That places another drain on the union's strike fund.
"We understand strikes are difficult and disruptive to families," GM spokesman Jim Cain said in an email. "While on strike, some benefits shift to being funded by the union's strike fund, and in this case hourly employees are eligible for union-paid COBRA so their health care benefits can continue."
GM has said in the past that it annually spends about $1 billion a year on healthcare coverage for its hourly workers, suggesting the monthly cost per worker is in the range of $1,700 to $2,000. The UAW on its website said its strike fund covers certain benefits such as medical and prescription drugs, but not dental, vision and hearing.
During the walkout, UAW members also receive $250 a week from the union's strike fund.
In a statement on Sunday, GM outlined its offer to the union, saying the package included plans for Michigan and Ohio assembly plants currently lacking products, $7 billion in U.S. investment and a signing bonus of $8,000 per worker. GM also said the union would retain "nationally leading" health care benefits.
The contract talks with GM have been overshadowed by a mushrooming U.S. federal corruption probe of top union officials. The investigation has raised questions about UAW President Gary Jones, who a source said was an unnamed official cited in a federal complaint last week detailing alleged embezzlement by union leaders.
The strike has also become a political issue, and both U.S. President Donald Trump and Democrats who want to unseat him in 2020 have weighed in. Trump and Democrats see the votes of UAW members in the Midwest as critical to victory.
GM's workers last went out on a brief two-day strike in 2007 during contract talks. A more painful strike occurred in Flint, Michigan, in 1998, lasting 54 days and costing the automaker more than $2 billion.
(Production: Bryan Woolston, Bryan Woolston, Deborah Lutterbeck) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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