Auto Workers Strike at Two GM Plants

DETROIT — More than 7,500 union workers at two key General Motors plants in Indiana and Wisconsin walked off the job late Tuesday as contract talks between GM and the United Auto Workers continued without a settlement.

The walkout, which could quickly paralyze some of GM’s most profitable operations, comes just a day after the union let an extension of its previous three-year contract lapse and UAW leaders warned that local strikes were possible.

The strikes turn up the pressure on GM, which is still struggling to restart some U.S. assembly operations shut down by a 21-day walkout by the Canadian Auto Workers. The Canadian strike ended Wednesday, but GM still has 22,000 U.S. workers idled because of the dispute.

The local walkouts are clearly designed to hurt GM financially, since they are directed at GM’s truck operations, which make some its most profitable vehicles.

“This is a shot at GM’s wallet,” said Maryann Keller, an analyst with Furman Selz and an expert on GM operations. “These plants represent the heart of GM’s earnings.”

About 4,800 workers struck at the assembly plant in Janesville, Wis., which makes the popular GMC Suburban, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe sport-utility vehicles. An additional 2,750 workers at a truck-stamping plant in Indianapolis also went on strike.

GM spokesman Gerald Holmes said the strikes came even as GM and UAW executives were in talks. The talks recessed about 9 p.m. EST and were to resume this morning.

On Monday, Yokich held a news conference in which he said the UAW would continue bargaining with GM without a contract. He also signaled that some locals might choose to strike over local issues. “But we are not telling local unions to do that,” Yokich said.

Labor experts, however, said Yokich has such firm control of the UAW that no local could go on strike in the midst of national contract negotiations without the approval of the union’s leadership.

“It’s implausible that any local strike would occur with national approval,” said Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at UC Berkeley.

An escalating strike would be the third major labor dispute to hit GM this year. Analysts say it would hurt the company in the short term, but they note that GM has more to gain by looking after its long-term interest of cutting costs.