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Wednesday, Jul. 15, 1998
GM asks for court intervention in strikes
Automaker wants to force UAW into arbitration, may ask judge to order workers back on job
Associated Press
DETROIT - General Motors Corp. sought help in federal court Tuesday to end crippling strikes that so far have cost the No. 1 automaker $1.2 billion, arguing that the monthlong walkouts are illegal.
GM asked the court to force the United Auto Workers into arbitration to decide the legality of the strikes the automaker considers a breach of its national UAW contract. It also said it may ask the judge to order the 9,200 striking workers back to work and award the company unspecified damages.
A hearing on the arbitration motion was scheduled for today.
The action was sure to intensify the rift between the two sides as talks at the two parts plants in Flint dragged on Tuesday with no signs of a settlement. It came as GM posted an 81 percent plunge in quarterly profits because of the strikes. The negotiations recessed late Tuesday and were to resume today.
``The magnitude of the potential loss to GM resulting from the inability of the parties to resolve this dispute ... justifies prompt action to compel expedited arbitration,'' stated the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court.
The strikes have shuttered 25 assembly plants and more than 100 parts plants across North America, and have idled about 175,000 workers. Analysts estimate the strikes are costing GM about $80 million a day in lost production.
The UAW has accused GM of a strategy of sending U.S. jobs to Mexico and overseas and has acknowledged the Flint strikes have national implications. But it maintains they are primarily over local plant grievances involving health and safety violations, work-rule disputes and subcontracting issues.
UAW Vice President Richard Shoemaker, the union's lead negotiator with GM, said in a statement that the lawsuit was filed ``more for its Wall Street PR value than anything else.''
UAW President Stephen P. Yokich, in an interview on radio station WJR, rejected GM's position. He said the problems between GM and the UAW stem from a long history of broken promises by the company and a resulting lack of trust.
``I don't call it a classic showdown,'' he said. ``I call it stupidity. Because they have all the time in the world to get these issues settled, to build trust with their workers. This is not building trust.''
Legal experts noted that courts rarely get involved in strikes.
``I think it would be very unlikely for the court to intervene, but not impossible,'' said David Gregory, a labor law professor at St. John's University. ``This definitely catches everybody's attention.''
And if the court ordered the strikers back to work?
``They wouldn't do it,'' Gregory said. ``Then you'd have contempt sanctions and fines. But I don't think it's going to get to that level because I don't think the court's going to find in favor of General Motors.''Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web