Striking GM Workers In Hudson Remain Optimistic Of Settlement
HUDSON, WI (WCCO) -- A nationwide strike against General Motors facilities is now in its 30th day. The contract dispute between GM and 46,000 United Auto Workers began on September 16th and is lately showing signs of bargaining progress.
A handful of the striking autoworkers are employed at a major GM parts distribution facility in Hudson.
In his 22 years working for General Motors, Nate Storck has never walked a picket line.
"It takes a large toll not just physically but mentally, you just try to make ends meet," explains Storck.
The steady paychecks came to an end in mid-September when he and 73 unionized co-workers inside the facility walked off their jobs.
Storck and his striking co-workers are now taking shifts on the picket lines and getting by on $250 of weekly strike pay. Storck says it's a sacrifice made in hopes of securing a better future for him and his fellow workers.
"That's what we want for the younger generation, says Storck. "The people coming into a secure place to work with benefits, a good hourly rate of pay and some security."
But he and his fellow workers fear that General Motors is outsourcing more of the assembly and parts jobs to plants in Mexico and China.
Meantime, temporary workers and new hires are working for much lower wages and benefits. An employee must be on the job for at least eight years to reach the top scale.
"What everybody wants is everybody getting the same wage and doing the same job, which is what you would think is fair," explains UAW Local 722 benefit representative, John Koehler.
Despite declining market share, GM is posting record profits. The union says that is largely due deep concessions that the rank-and-file made during the 2008 federal government bailout.
"Of course when you have people in Mexico getting $1.90 an hour to build your Chevy Silverado, and you're selling them for $58,000, of course, there's going to be some profit there," adds Koehler.
The dispute has already cost GM an estimated $2-billion in lost revenue. The Hudson, Wisconsin facility supplies auto dealerships and garages with parts from Chicago to Denver.
Each day the automaker is losing an estimated one-hundred million dollars in revenues and market share. Union workers are forgoing millions more in wages and benefits. That's why reaching a fair settlement soon will be in everyone's best interests.
In what could be a major sign of progress, GM's CEO appeared at the bargaining table for the first time Tuesday morning. Meantime, local UAW leaders from across the country are being summoned to Detroit on Thursday for what's being called a major contract update.
