UAW Declares Strike Against GM For First Time Since 2007

The United Auto Workers union on Sunday morning announced a national strike set to begin at 11:59 p.m. Sunday after failing to come to a tentative contract agreement with General Motors Company GM. Production across the country is expected to be halted affecting nearly 50,000 workers.

The last time UAW workers went on strike against GM was in 2007. That 73,000-worker strike idled 80 plants for two days, costing the automaker about $300 million a day.

“We stood up for General Motors when they needed us most. Now we are standing together in unity and solidarity for our Members, their families and the communities where we work and live,” UAW Vice President Terry Dittes said Sunday.

Earlier this month, the UAW announced that 96% of the union employees at GM, Ford Motor Company F and Fiat Chrysler FCAU voted to support a strike if necessary.

"At midnight tonight, the picket lines will go up," UAW's Brian Rothenberg said in Detroit on Sunday. "But basically, when the morning shift would have reported for work, they won't be there. The picket lines are being set up."

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Photo credit: Dwight Burdette