GM Strike May Be Over

The afternoon shift at the GM plants across the world will return to work on Wednesday evening. The United Auto Workers Union and the General Motors Corporate Executives have reached what they believe could be a tentative agreement, from the many "marathon bargaining sessions" as CNN stated. The President of the UAW, Ron Gettlefinger, announced the tentative deal to a crowd of cheering UAW members, just after 4 a. m. in Detroit, Michigan.

This could be one of the shortest nation wide strikes in the history of GM Employee's. As employees took their place on the picket lines, some singing out in loud voices "Solidarity Forever," you could feel the strength that backed the UAW and the picket lines. Always believing that there is "strength in numbers." The UAW has supported their workers since 1937, when GM workers asked them to be their union representatives. With 70 years of faithful experience negotiating for the Auto Workers, the UAW once again stands strong and willing to see this strike through to it's end.

Talking with my brother, Raymond Blackburn, who has been a General Motors Employee for over 30 years. He stressed to me his worry of the strike benefits not being enough to keep the employees going for a long period of time. The strike benefits would be $200. dollars per week. In today's world that may not even cover the house payment, much less the utilities and groceries they would need to feed their families. When you realize that there are 73,000 GM Employee's affected by this strike. $200 dollars per week for each as a strike benefit, could run into millions of dollars if the strike is prolonged.

Ray (as we call him) began his career at the old Cadillac Plant off of Clark Street in Detroit. He worked on the line for many years there and then took a job on the docks driving the new cars out and parking them in the large holding lots. He also drove Hi-Lo for GM during his career. This area is one of the major concerns for the UAW. Should this type of job be allowed to be contracted out to another company. One that may not be unionized or one that will not pay a fair wage for the position GM workers now hold.