Throughout the current contract negotiations with General Motors, the United Auto Workers union officials have repeatedly said that their membership saved the once troubled US automaker.
"We stood up for General Motors when they needed us most," said UAW Vice President Terry Dittes, who leads the union's talks with GM.
The union's sacrifices actually go back before the company's bankruptcy and bailout of 10 years ago, to 2007, the last time the union struck GM. At the time, GM, Ford and Chrysler were paying the equivalent of thousands of dollars per vehicle to provide healthcare to UAW retirees, putting them at a huge competitive disadvantage. After brief strikes at GM and Chrysler, the union agreed to have that health care coverage provided by trust funds rather than the automakers.
But it wasn't enough. When the 2008 financial crisis hit, sales plunged and the automakers started to hemorrhage cash. GM and Chrysler ended up in bankruptcy, kept alive by a federal government bailout.
The union agreed to reopen the contracts and grant new concessions, including paying new hires on a cheapRead More – Source
