page_title: 2007 General Motors strike
section_title: Strike
hierarchical_section_title: 2007 General Motors strike / Strike
caption_attribution_description: Left to right: Ron Gettelfinger, UAW President. Crop of the larger Image:FMC-UAW agreement, 2007.jpg
context_page_description: The 2007 General Motors Strike was a labor union strike that lasted three days from September 23 to September 25 of 2007 organized by the United Automobile Workers union. The UAW were engaged in talks with General Motors to negotiate a new labor contract but were unable to come to an agreement before the deadline. Consequently, 73,000 workers walked out forcing 80 GM facilities in 30 states to cease operations. After the two day strike, the two parties reached an agreement in which the UAW union would assume the responsibility for managing retiree healthcare liabilities. The UAW previously went on strike against General Motors in 1970.
context_section_description: Immediately after the deadline had passed, the UAW union moved to a national strike that involved 73,000 workers walking out of an estimated 80 GM facilities. After the union announced the strike, negotiations continued that same afternoon lasting over five hours. In the UAW's press conference, its president Ron Gettelfinger expressed his disappointment in GM's management and their refusal to meet the union halfway. He believed that the UAW had no choice but to strike stating that: “There comes a point in time where you have to draw a line in the sand”. Many saw this as the UAW refusing to roll over to management's demands from GM. Gettelfinger also expressed that the UAW was willing to consider GM's request to form a trust to take on healthcare liabilities, and that job security remained the union's number one concern.
  
  The effect of the strike was an operational halt that would otherwise produce 12,200 cars a day. Concerns were raised regarding the effect of the strike on GM if an agreement wasn't reached. The strike had the potential to influence GM supply chains and overseas plants that manufacture parts. Nearby operations in Mexico and Canada would also suffer as a result. The strike became a focus within the automobile industry as how it played it out would likely affect negotiations the UAW would later have with Ford and Chrysler given the vulnerable state of the United States’ auto companies.
  
  Despite the strike, Michael Robinet, the vice president of CSM Worldwide and an expert on global vehicle forecasts, predicted that GM would not have any issues with a shortage of vehicle production. In fact, he expected that the company would not experience issues related to inventory shortages for two to three weeks should the strike continue as a result of no agreement being reached. At the time, GM's inventory levels were generally higher than that of their competitors, a point that many linked to the company's poor sales in recent months leading up to the strike.
  
  On the first day of the strike, GM's stock closed 20 cents lower in the trading session, wiping out what was originally a gain of 2.6% earlier on in the day. The consensus amongst analysts evaluating GM's position in the strike was that while a long strike would be highly detrimental for the company as it seeks to turn its business around and become more profitable. With that said, many believed that GM would still be well positioned to endure a strike that was shorter in nature.
caption: Ron Gettelfinger, President of the United Automobile Workers Union from 2002 - 2010
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