GM, UAW negotiations heat up over Chinese imports

Unlike the government-brokered negotiations with Chrysler and the UAW, the union is not signing on so fast to GM’s restructuring plans. The major bone of contention still appears to be the plan to cut production and lay off workers at American factories and replace them with imports from China:

Talks between General Motors and the UAW have intensified in recent days as they focus on the automaker’s plans to cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs and shift production outside the United States, people briefed on the discussions said.

The UAW has been campaigning to block GM’s restructuring plan on the grounds that it would cut domestic car production and jobs while increasing imports of GM-badged vehicles from the low-wage economies of China, Mexico and South Korea.

The union on Friday renewed a call for the Obama administration and Congress to force changes in the GM plan.

The leaders of both the company and the union, GM’s Fritz Henderson and the UAW’s Ron Gettelfinger, will be in Washington this week with the Obama administration’s auto taskforce. This is expected to be a major topic of dispute. The GM restructuring plan also includes increasing imports from their factories in Mexico and South Korea while decreasing production in both the U.S. and Canada.