As the strike of roughly 48,000 UAW-represented General Motors workers enters its fourth week, the likelihood of the strike ending anytime soon is slim.
UAW-GM Vice President Terry Dittes said GM rejected a UAW-issued proposal on Oct. 5. He said the strike has “taken a turn for the worst.” Dittes said GM responded to the Oct. 5 proposal by reverting back to an older offer GM made to the UAW, which the UAW rejected.
The UAW is looking to renegotiate concessions it made during GM’s recovery from bankruptcy, which happened a decade ago, Marick Masters, director of labor studies and professor of business at Wayne State University, said.
The UAW is looking to change the two-tier system of employee wages where newer employees receive less compensation than those who’ve been at the company for longer. Along with this, signing bonuses, job security, pensions, profit sharing, and much more are points of contention for the UAW.
GM's U.S. factories have been on strike since Sept.16, and analysts predict that GM is losing $80 million a day due to the strikes. Workers receive $250 in strike pay — almost one-fifth of their normal pay — leaving many striking workers to struggle and tap into personal savings.
UAW member Rick Martin told Fox 2, “these workers are just trying to make it, these people are just trying to make it."