UAW Strike Against GM Ends, Everyone Happy

We’re not sure what exactly was holding things up over the weekend that led to the GM strike that lasted two days, but all sides seem to be happy today. The main sticking point, it turned out, wasn’t the UAW taking over retirement health care management — stay awake one more second — it was GM providing some kind of reassurance that there is job security for UAW members.

Oddly enough, this morning there are still no specifics on how GM managed to offer job security in an industry that is seeing increasing competition not just from Japan and Korea but from China as well.

GM says this deal helps reduce the gap in costs between foreign nameplate cars made in America with its own products. There’s roughly $200 per vehicle that domestics pay more than imports that use non-UAW labor. We’ll keep an eye on new car prices to see if they dip $200 or if the company adds more features. We’re not holding our breath on the former.

GM, UAW Reach Tentative Deal; Strike is Off (The Detroit News)