GENERAL Motors Corp, the world's largest auto maker, won two victories as a supplier reached an accord to end a strike that choked off parts to more than 30 factories and Canadian workers ratified a cost-saving contract.
The parts maker, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc, and the United Auto Workers tentatively agreed on a contract late Friday that would settle an 11-week walkout. The Canadian Auto Workers union said on Saturday its labor deal with GM was ratified with 84 percent of the vote.
The accords should restore the flow of parts from GM's biggest axle supplier and ensure three years of peace with the auto maker's Canadian workforce. They also build on the United States contracts secured last year by GM, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC to pare pay and benefits.
"The North American non-competitive labor agreements are now history, which is really a big step," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
GM's CAW contract covers about 13,000 workers and follows a pattern set in an accord with Ford two weeks ago, the union said in a statement. The CAW said a GM transmission plant in Windsor, Ontario, would shut in 2010, cutting 1,400 jobs.
The American Axle strike created a parts shortage that idled thousands of workers at Detroit-based GM making pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles, cars, and engine and vehicle parts. That slowdown in turn hit other GM suppliers such as Lear Corp, the second-largest maker of automotive seats, Bloomberg News said.
GM pleased
"We're pleased that the UAW and American Axle have reached the agreement and we hope it gets ratified," GM spokesman Dan Flores said. "With ratification we will move to restart our operations where there is impact."
The UAW didn't disclose the terms, and company spokeswoman Renee Rogers declined to give details.
The walkout by 3,650 employees at Detroit-based American Axle began on February 26 over proposed pay cuts, stopping almost all production at five of the supplier's plants.
"Our members at American Axle have displayed extraordinary solidarity during this strike," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in the statement.
GM said this month it would pay as much as US$200 million to help end the strike. GM said cutbacks due to the parts shortage cut output by at least 230,000 vehicles and cut cash flow by US$2.1 billion in the first quarter.
Also, Chrysler employees approved their agreement with 87 percent in favor, the Canadian Auto Workers union said on Saturday in a statement. Ford workers ratified their deal on May 4.
GM has also reached an agreement to end a walkout at an SUV plant in Michigan that made models such as the GMC Acadia, which raised US sales 43 percent this year.
GM also ratified a deal at a metal-stamping factory in Ohio.