UAW Strikes GM Auto Plants

The United Auto Workers called a strike against General Motors Monday in the first nationwide strike against the U.S. auto industry since 1976, the Associated Press reported.

Thousands of union workers walked off the job at GM plants, and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said that job security was the main unresolved issue, AP said.

The UAW has not staged a national strike against General Motors since 1970, the Detroit News reported on its Web site. A GM spokesman confirmed the strike to the paper but said the largest U.S. automaker hopes for a deal.

Since bargaining for a new contract began in July, the company had sought to drastically reduce labor and retiree healthcare costs, while the UAW’s top priority was protecting manufacturing jobs, the News reported.

At the core of the talks was GM’s proposal to unload $50 billion in retiree obligation through a company-funded, union-run trust fund, the paper said.

Workers walked off the job and began picketing Monday outside plants after a morning strike deadline passed, AP reported.

The UAW has 73,000 members who work for GM at 82 U.S. facilities, including assembly and parts plants and warehouses, AP said.