ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 22, 1996 TAG: 9603220052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DAYTON, OHIO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A tentative settlement reached Thursday may end the longest strike against General Motors Corp. in 26 years, a walkout that paralyzed the North American operations of the world's largest automaker.
The 17-day strike by a single union local at two Ohio brake plants forced GM to shut down 26 of its 29 assembly plants and 18 parts plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico, halted work at many independent suppliers, and furloughed 177,375 GM workers.
Details of the agreement were not released.
The 2,700 striking members of United Auto Workers Local 696 will head to a university arena today to vote on the proposal, signed by the UAW and GM Thursday after days of intense, marathon negotiations.
Union leaders said they would recommend members approve the accord.
If ratified, the plants in Dayton could resume production today, while other affected GM operations would have to wait for parts before resuming operations, company officials said.
GM declined to discuss terms of the agreement or say whether it addresses the main point of contention between the two sides - outsourcing. The practice of buying parts from outside manufacturers to reduce labor and production costs is a job-killer, the union says. But GM has said it allows the company to stay competitive, which saves jobs.
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Local 696 member James Honeycutt (left) greets aby CNBmember of the negotiation team Thursday after the reaching of a
tentative settlement with General Motors in Dayton, Ohio. color