GM, UAW to negotiate as strike hits third week

General Motors will meet with striking members of the United Automobile Workers as the union’s first work stoppage since 2007 nears the three-week mark, according to Reuters.

“Negotiations will resume first thing Monday morning and we will continue to look for solutions to reach an agreement,” the UAW said, according to the news service.

{mosads}The automaker, meanwhile, said it will continue negotiations with a goal of a deal that “builds a stronger future for its employees and business,” according to Reuters.

The strike began on Sept. 16, with members demanding higher pay, better protection for their health care benefits and an increased share of the automaker’s profits.

Last week, GM announced that 50,00 striking workers would retain their health care benefits after initial reports that the automaker would cut off benefits, claiming the benefits were never at risk and blaming “confusion.” UAW personnel, however, told The Hill that the move was only in response to public pressure.

“It should not have taken stories about UAW GM workers who faced losing their cancer drugs, or postponing their surgery dates for GM to see their workers as humans beings not pawns on a chess board,” Jason Kaplan, a representative for UAW, told The Hill last week.