The United Auto Workers union have been on strike for the past few days, and the leader of the organization said that while there has been some progress regarding their demands from General Motors, there is also a lot of issues that need to be addressed and hence, the strike continues.
“Some progress has been made, but there are still many of our memberships’ issues that remain unresolved,” UAW Vice President Terry Dittes said letter sent to members Thursday.
The GM employees, lead by the AUW, is protesting the company for higher wages, more generous health care benefits, and more job security. More than 480,000 employees went out on strike on Monday in order to pressure the company to offer them better a deal than what the company is giving them right now. The strike has been going on its fifth day today.
“This strike is for all the right reasons: to raise the standard of living of our members and their families and for workers across this country, to achieve true job security, our fair share of the profits, affordable health care and a path to permanent seniority for temporary workers,” he said in the letter.
As part of the letter, the UAW leader also acknowledges the workers who joined the strike for “heir loyalty and passionate support” as negotiators “take on their most crucial issues in this set of negotiations.”
The strike started on Saturday when a deal was not made between the UAW and GM regarding the workers’ demand. It is the UAW’s first national strike against GM since a two-day work stoppage in 2007. The increasing tension has also forced GM to move in the offensive and canceled the health benefits of their workers who joined the strike.
As part of their retaliation for the cancelation of health care coverage, the organization has posted notices around and in social media stating: “Heads up to all active workers, GM has canceled out health care.”
