RED LIGHT

United Automobile Workers Call Nationwide Strike Against General Motors

The union representing 46,000 autoworkers will strike at midnight Sunday for the first time since 1982.

United Automobile Workers (UAW) has called a strike against General Motors effective Sunday. The union represents some 46,000 auto workers who are striking for “fundamental rights of working-class people of this nation,” according to UAW vice president, Terry Dittes. The decision to strike came after a meeting Sunday morning at GM’s Detroit headquarters where nearly all of the 175 local union leaders present voted to strike. The strike does not affect Ford or Fiat Chrysler, which extended contracts with workers before the meeting. “Going into the bargaining season, our members have been very clear of what they will and will not accept in this contract.” GM offered UAW $7 billion in investments and more than 5,400 jobs with higher pay and improved benefits but the union insists that as profits soar on the backs of the workers, the company needs to do more.