UAW strike day 19: Layoffs stacking up as U.S. Senator Gary Peters visits striking GM workers
PONTIAC, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Layoffs due to the United Auto Workers strike are stacking up. It comes as General Motors is now reviewing the latest counteroffer from the union.
On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters joined striking GM workers at the company's redistribution center in Pontiac.
From day one, Peters has stood in solidarity with striking UAW members who want to see their wish list of demands fulfilled, including eliminating the tier system.
"For me, when I started, I started at $15 something an hour. So I want to make sure that other temporary workers are going up to $20. I want to make sure that also that everybody, everybody that makes a fair wage, we a lot of people, we do the same job. So it doesn't make sense that one person is on one tier [and] another person is on another tier," said Byron Boggan, a striking GM employee.
But now, on day 19 of the strike, both sides remain far apart in negotiations.
"Workers are saying, we're getting squeezed, our families are getting squeezed. And we've seen pay at the top levels literally explode over these years. It's time to bring back fairness," Peters said.
GM has confirmed the union presented a counteroffer to their Sep. 21 proposal during a meeting on Monday.
A GM spokesperson wrote in a statement, "We are assessing, but significant gaps remain."
The two sides met after GM CEO Mary Barra released a scathing statement on Friday, calling out the so-called "theatrics" from UAW leadership and demanding that they need the union at the bargaining table with the clear intent of reaching an agreement.
"We hope there's not an impasse; we hope that this strike can be resolved as quickly as possible. Clearly, the workers that I'm here with today would like to get it resolved, but they want to make sure it's resolved in a way that's fair for other workers," Peters said.
On Tuesday, Ford announced it was laying off 330 workers at its Chicago stamping plant and its engine plant in Lima, Ohio.
Meanwhile, General Motors told 130 workers at a plant near Cleveland not to report to work on Tuesday. The same goes for 34 workers at one of their facilities in Indiana and 163 workers at a transmission plant in Toledo.
With Tuesday's furloughs, more than 2,100 GM workers have been laid off due to the strike.
Those members can receive the weekly $500 the UAW is giving out in strike pay.
For more on the UAW strike, visit here.
