GM executive knocks UAW for ‘flow of misinformation’ amid strike

Mark Reuss, the president of General Motors (GM), called out the United Auto Workers (UAW) union for a “flow of misinformation” amid the ongoing strikes.

“Amid the rhetoric of the United Auto Workers leadership, the flow of misinformation is not fair to anyone,” Reuss wrote in an op-ed published in the Detroit Free Press Wednesday. “It can be hugely counterproductive to reaching an agreement that gets the GM team back to work quickly, which should be everyone’s goal.”

Reuss noted that GM’s last proposed offer sheet to UAW addressed the issues the union brought up, including wage increases, job security and long-term stability.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to debunk some of the myths being shared out there,” he said.

The GM head denounced claims made by the union that the automaker paid its members “poverty” wages. Reuss said he already offered the union a 20 percent salary increase in its last proposal, meaning that 85 percent of its workforce would earn a base salary of approximately $82,000 a year. 

He also called the union’s demands “untenable,” as the company is already preparing a transition into all-electric vehicle manufacturing. Still, he said GM would be adding new positions by next year. 

“As the past has clearly shown, nobody wins in a strike,” he argued. “We have delivered a record offer. That is a fact. It rightly rewards our team members, while positioning the company for success in the future.”

“Often in these situations, the clouds of rhetoric can obscure reality,” he added.

Reuss said in his op-ed that he is “hoping to shed some light” on the situation and hopes the issue will be “resolved quickly and fairly.”

“That is what our team members, our communities, our customers and our country all deserve,” he concluded.

The GM leader’s remarks come after the UAW officially launched a strike against three major automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — last week after negotiations failed before the workers’ contracts ended. The union is asking for higher wages, shorter work weeks, union representation for battery plant workers and better retirement benefits, including restored pensions for new hires.

UAW President Shawn Fain threatened more strikes will happen if the automakers don’t make “serious progress” on a new contract with his union.