GM CEO Met With UAW President to Jump-Start Stalled Labor Talks--Update

By Nora Naughton 

General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra met on Wednesday with UAW President Gary Jones to jump-start stalled contract talks and end a 25-day strike at the company's U.S. factories, according to people briefed on the meeting.

Ms. Barra asked for the meeting with Mr. Jones and the UAW's top bargainer for GM, Terry Dittes, concerned the union had yet to respond to the company's latest proposal, which it shared with the union Monday, the people said. The meeting was at GM's Detroit headquarters, in the same building where negotiations are under way, the people added.

Top negotiators for the union and the company haven't met at the main bargaining table in the last two days, a sign talks have slowed, the people said.

The talks have continued only on the committee level, where details of larger items are usually hashed out, the people said, adding those meetings extended late into the night Wednesday. Bargaining on the committee level resumed Thursday morning.

After significant progress last week, talks hit a snag Sunday, prompting Mr. Dittes to send a letter to members informing them talks had taken a "turn for the worse."

The meeting between Ms. Barra and Mr. Jones was first reported by The New York Post.

As the strike stretches through a fourth week, both sides are still working on several issues, including wages and new-hire pay, the people close to the talks said. Other points, like health care and a path to full-time status for temporary workers, have been largely settled, they said.

Mr. Dittes said in a Tuesday letter to members that negotiators were still far apart on the topic of job security, claiming GM was failing to meet the union's demands on investing more in the U.S. as opposed to other countries, such as Mexico.

The strike already is the longest nationwide walkout at GM since 1970 and is taking a toll on both sides. UAW workers will miss their third paycheck this week. The union compensates workers with a $250 weekly check out of its strike fund, a fraction of their regular pay.

Analysts estimate the strike also has cost GM more than $1 billion in lost production and has forced several suppliers to cut output and furlough workers.

Talks are likely to spill into Friday, extending the strike to at least a 26th day, people close to the talks said.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 10, 2019 16:59 ET (20:59 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.