DETROIT (AP) - The Latest on the 16-day strike by auto workers against General Motors (all times local):
5 p.m.
General Motors de Mexico says it will perform “preventive” maintenance to facilities and equipment at its Silao manufacturing complex while it is shut down due to a labor dispute in the United States.
The company says that “for the moment,” its facilities in Ramos Arizpe, San Luis Potosi and Toluca are operating normally.
The 16-day strike by auto workers forced GM de Mexico to shut down the Silao plant starting Tuesday, affecting 6,000 workers. The company cited a lack of parts coming from the United States for the closure.
GM de Mexico said in a statement that it was monitoring negotiations between GM and the United Auto Workers union and hopes the Silao facility may be able to come back online “in the coming days.”
About 49,000 union workers walked out Sept. 16. An analyst says the company has lost about $1 billion so far as the strike enters its third week. Workers are living on $250 per week in strike pay.
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2:50 p.m.
The top United Auto Workers negotiator in talks with General Motors says a contract proposal from the company that could end a 16-day strike fell short of union demands.
Vice President Terry Dittes (DIT-ez) tells local union leaders in a letter Tuesday that the proposal made Monday night was lacking on wages, health care, use of temporary workers, job security and other items. He wrote that GM was also seeking concessions from the union.
The union responded Tuesday with a counterproposal and is awaiting a reply. Dittes wrote that many issues remain unresolved.
About 49,000 union workers walked out Sept. 16. An analyst says the company has lost about $1 billion so far as the strike enters its third week. Workers are living on $250 per week in strike pay.
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12:30 p.m.
With the United Auto Workers’ strike against General Motors in its third week, pressure is mounting on both sides to reach a deal, with the company losing an estimated $1 billion and workers living on $250 per week in strike pay, about one-fifth of what they usually make.
Both sides are hoping the strike doesn’t last much longer, and they’ve been talking, with bargaining lasting until late evening in recent days. But they appear far apart on major issues such as pay raises, profit-sharing, use of temporary workers, guarantees of new products for U.S. factories and other issues.
On Tuesday, a parts shortage from the strike forced the company to close pickup truck and transmission factories in Silao, Mexico, idling 6,000 workers and taking an important revenue source for GM.
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