AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
By a 2-to-1 margin, unionized workers have approved a new four-year contract with General Motors that includes a $5,000 signing bonus and raises entry-level wages.
The contract, which is effective immediately, covers 48,000 members of the United Auto Workers union. The union said the new contract would result in 6,400 new U.S. jobs at GM plants plus thousands more at suppliers and related businesses.
"When it seems like everyone in America is getting cuts in benefits and paying higher co-pays and deductibles, we were able to maintain and improve on our current benefits," UAW vice president Joe Ashton said in a statement on the union website. "Most significant for our members, we were able to add unlimited $25 doctor's office visits. To the credit of GM and the UAW, this improvement will both increase the long term health of our members and reduce overall plan costs."
Union officials also gave credit to President Barack Obama for extending federal help to GM when the company was forced to seek bankruptcy protection in 2009. Obama was criticized for using taxpayer money to help GM, with some calling GM "Government Motors" for the aid it received.
Besides the signing bonus, union members are eligible for up to $4,000 in "inflation protection" and other payments over the life of the contract, plus an improved profit sharing plan.
Negotiators for the two sides reached a tentative agreement on the contract Sept. 16.
The UAW said 65 percent of production workers and 63 percent of skilled trades workers voted in favor of the deal.
GM executives have set a conference call with Wall Street analysts for Wednesday afternoon to explain the financial implications of the contract, Reuters reported.
UAW officials are negotiating a new contract with Ford and said Monday they expected "to have good news for our membership by the end of the week." But discussions at Chrysler are progressing more slowly.
View the original article here
0 comments:
Post a Comment