- Reuters reported Tuesday night, citing unnamed sources, that a settlement may be coming in the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors that started September 16.
- The news service said GM CEO Mary Barra and president Mark Reuss participated in contract talks and noted that GM has lost about $2 billion to date.
- Neither GM nor the UAW would comment on the report when asked by Reuters.
Reuters news service is reporting tonight that the five-week-long strike against General Motors may be coming to an end as soon as Wednesday.
The Reuters report, citing two unnamed people with knowledge of the negotiations, said GM's top leaders, CEO Mary Barra and president Mark Reuss, participated in negotiations with United Auto Workers representatives today and are said to be ironing out final details prior to announcing an agreement on Wednesday. Barra also met with UAW representatives on October 9. United Auto Workers and GM spokespeople would not comment to Reuters on Tuesday.
The UAW has been on strike since September 16, and the action has idled about 46,000 workers. Areas of disagreement include health-care benefits, wages, protections for temporary workers, and job security as well as the union's demand for an end to importation of GM vehicles made in other countries such as Mexico.
The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) has estimated the cost of the strike at about $450 million per week for GM and $12 million a week for the UAW, which has a fund to pay workers a flat $250 per week while they are on strike.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday on some of the content of the negotiations. The paper said that General Motors has offered to give workers raises in each of the four years a new contract would cover, distributed in the form of both wage hikes and bonuses. GM has offered amounts in the 3 percent to 4 percent range per year, the paper said. GM also has proposed to reduce how many years a newly hired employee must work in order to qualify for the top $30 per hour wage.
This story will be updated as new information becomes available.