The nationwide strike at General Motors Co. entered the second week as the carmaker failed to reach a settlement with United Auto Workers over the weekend.
GM and UAW made some progress over the weekend, but the two sides will be returning to the bargaining table Sept. 23 to discuss several key issues that remain unresolved, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the talks.
The strike by nearly 48,000 workers affecting GM's more than 30 U.S. plants is the union's longest nationwide walkout against the carmaker since 1970. The strike is over issues such as pay, healthcare, job security, temp workers and a share of the company's profits.
The workers held rallies Sept. 22 across the country that were attended by Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren in Michigan and Joe Biden in Kansas.
The work stoppage at GM could extend for at least one more week with the UAW considering staying on strike even if it reaches a tentative agreement with the carmaker, Detroit Free Press reported, citing three people, including two unnamed union leaders on the council negotiating with GM.
The union leaders told Free Press it is likely that workers could remain on strike until membership ratification instead of the usual practice of ending the strike once a tentative agreement between the two sides is reached.
S&P Global Ratings analyst Lawrence Orlowski had earlier pegged the impact of the strike to GM at about $1 billion in cash a week, while Credit Suisse, Bank of America and Citigroup analysts estimated the impact to be about $50 million to $100 million per day.
CNBC said Sept. 20 that about 4,500 members of Canadian trade union Unifor have been temporarily laid off as a result of the production halt due to shortage of parts delivered to Canada.
