UAW Strike: Ford lays off 330; union makes counteroffer to GM

The United Auto Workers union on Oct. 2 made a counteroffer to General Motors' Sept. 21 contract proposal, but the auto maker indicated that the two sides still were not close to an agreement.

GM met with UAW leaders Oct. 2 and "the union did present a counter to our proposal from Sept. 21," company spokesperson David Barnas said in a statement. "We are assessing, but significant gaps remain."

The UAW did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the status of negotiations. A source familiar with negotiations told Automotive News that it was the union's first comprehensive counter to GM's most recent proposal.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. laid off about 330 workers from its stamping plant in Chicago and an engine plant in Lima, Ohio. Both sites supply parts to the Chicago Assembly Plant, where workers walked off the job Friday as part of the union's latest strike expansion.

Ford said it now has laid off a total of 930 workers in connection with the strike, which also halted production at its Michigan Assembly Plant near Detroit.

GM said Sept. 21 that it had "put a 5th record offer on the table." Many details of the proposal have not been disclosed publicly, but the auto maker has offered to raise wages a total of 20 percent over four years, get new hires to top wages twice as quickly, and move workers at parts distribution centers and component plants onto the same wage scale as assembly plant employees, who generally earn more today.

The union has called for wage increases of as much as 40 percent and for new hires to earn top wages within 90 days instead of the eight years it takes now.

UAW President Shawn Fain expanded the strike Sept. 22, adding 18 GM parts distribution centers, and again on Sept. 29, when about 2,300 UAW-represented employees who build the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave crossovers near Lansing, Mich., walked out. He also added Stellantis parts depots in the first expansion and Ford's Chicago Assembly in the second.

About 3,600 workers at GM's assembly plant in Wentzville, Mo., have been on strike since midnight on Sept. 15, when the UAW's four-year contracts with the Detroit 3 auto makers expired.

Gerald Johnson, GM's executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability, said in a statement Sept. 29 that the auto maker had "not received a comprehensive counteroffer from UAW leadership" when the union added the Lansing plant to the strike. "Calling more strikes is just for the headlines, not real progress," Johnson said.

His statement was followed later in the day by blistering criticism of the UAW from GM CEO Mary Barra, who said "it's clear that there is no real intent to get to an agreement."

Michael Martinez, Automotive News Staff, contributed to this report.