BAWC Forums

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The United Auto Workers union started picketing General Motors facilities at 11 a.m. ET Monday as the nation's largest automaker was apparently hit by a strike by 73,000 UAW members.

But negotiations were reported to be continuing, following nine days of extended talks that culminating in an all-night negotiating session right up to, and past, the deadline.

The previous contract between GM (Charts, Fortune 500) and the UAW had expired on Sept. 14, but UAW members stayed on the job at the nation's No. 1 automaker as negotiators tried to reach agreement on what is expected to be a groundbreaking agreement.

But late Sunday night, the union set an 11 a.m. ET strike deadline and issued a statement Monday saying that management had been unwilling to address the unions' key concerns on job security for the members at GM.

While the strike idles 59 U.S. plants and facilities at GM, it does not affect the two other automakers whose workers are represented by the UAW, Ford Motor (Charts, Fortune 500) or Chrysler Group, which between them have more than 100,000 UAW still on the job. Members at those companies have been working under their own contract extensions as the union concentrated on reaching a deal with the UAW.

A key to the contract talks is GM's goal of shifting an estimated $51 billion in future health care costs for retirees and their family members to union-controlled trust funds. GM has more than 340,000 retirees and surviving spouses receiving such benefits today. Shifting those costs is seen as a key to GM efforts to close its cost gap with nonunion automakers such as Toyota Motor (Charts) and Honda Motor (Charts). Top of page
Is GM a growth stock again?