For the first time since 1970, UAW has staged a strike against General Motors in lieu of failed labor pact negotiations. Today’s deadline passed without a deal, leaving 73,000 hourly workers unsure of their employment future. The strike comes on the tail of ten days of “marathon bargaining.”
How were the higher-ups at GM handling the news? Apparently, they were so infuriated with the incessant demands of the UAW that they began hitting employees with their cars. At the Pontiac plant in Michigan, a supervisor “clipped” one of the picketing employees while trying to enter the parking lot.
This alleged “clip” did not seem so “clip-ish” after Tracy Turvis, 37, had to be treated by the local fire department for being “visibly shaken.” Cures of visible shaken-ness do exist. However, their administration requires an expert knowledge of the medical sciences and a relatively steady hand in order to provide the best treatment. If you are unfamiliar with Visible Shaken-ness, we have provided a picture of what a visually shaken person may look like:
And:
Turvis said, “I thought he was going to slow down and he gunned it.” The fact that Turvis was able to speak is a testament to medical fortitude of the Pontiac Fire Department. Beyond this however, the insight provides an astute characterization of the nature of the strenuous labor negotiations and the tense atmosphere surrounding GM-UAW relations before and immediately proceeding the unmet deadline.
“I thought he was going to slow down and he gunned it.”
Tracy Turvis
UAW negotiation survivor
While GM may be “gunning it” at UAW employees and negotiators, the balance of power remains unclear. Leaders at the UAW are suggesting that GM is not budging, which is odd considering that the UAW keeps coming back to the table. GM feels that the UAW is too demanding, even against the backdrop of a declining auto industry which has inevitably resulted in numerous cuts to big-labor . At issue is the adoption of a union-run health-care trust that provides coverage for medical bills of GM’s 340,000 retired employees and their family members.
Compromise. This seems to be the theme of the day for Michigan. Having picket signs ready to be marched around at 11:01 am, one minute after the negotiation deadline, does not seem like a deal was in the cards to begin with. Perhaps all this was a self-fulfilling prophecy for the UAW… or perhaps they just had signs left over from 1970. And GM, come on. Hitting people with cars is no way to bargain…unless you’re Bruce Willis (fast forward to the last scene of the clip). Negotiations are tough. Everybody involved in them has to give a little bit, otherwise it would just be favors. They are not that tough though and you’ve been bargaining since you were two. If you’ve never had to give up anything to achieve a desired result, then you my friend were the bully. Nobody wants to be the bully; the bully has to answer to Bruce Willis’s helicopter.
