GM faces new pressure from construction union as strike drags on
A construction union is trying to pressure General Motors CEO Mary Barra to reach an agreement with the United Auto Workers, now in day 19 of a strike.
In a letter obtained by FOX Business, North America’s Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey urged Barra to reach an “equitable settlement” with the UAW “as soon as possible.”
McGarvey noted that NABTU, which represents $3 million construction workers in the U.S. and Canada, has pension funds that hold roughly 7 percent, or $3.46 billion, of GM shares.
“We have watched this strike closely and remained quiet until now,” McGarvey wrote in the letter. “We are increasingly concerned with your approach to our Company’s most important asset, its workforce, and the fallout on GM’s ability to generate long-term value for shareholders.”
“As owners of the Company, our workforce has repeatedly sacrificed over the last ten years,” he added. “We believe it’s time for a fair resolution, especially when GM recorded a net profit of $2.4 billion in just the second quarter of this year alone.”
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In a statement to FOX Business, a GM spokesperson said the company is continuing to negotiate with UAW to reach an agreement that "builds a stronger future for our employees and our company."
The UAW’s nationwide strike against GM began in mid-September, with 46,000 members of the labor union putting down their tools at plants across the country, halting production in nine states. It was the union’s first strike since 2007, when taxpayers bailed out the automaker at the start of the financial crisis, and has become one of the longest strikes in decades.
The UAW rejected an offer from GM on Monday, but later in the week acknowledged the union had made “significant progress” in contract negotiations.
FOX Business' Evie Fordham contributed to this report