A peek behind the scenes: The night GM CEO Mary Barra signed the UAW tentative agreement

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2023/11/04/behind-the-scenes-gm-signed-uaw-tentative-agreement/71455556007/

Whether General Motors CEO Mary Barra shakes hands with UAW President Shawn Fain if union workers ratify their tentative labor agreement remains a question, the Detroit Free Press learned Saturday.

Fain declined to shake hands with Barra and the other Detroit Three automaker CEOs at the start of talks in the summer, and now Barra has indicated perhaps it's best to close without a ceremonial handshake, according to one of about two dozen people in the room Oct. 30 when the tentative deal came together.

That was around 4 a.m. and everyone was exhausted, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly. GM had about eight top negotiators and others in the room, while the UAW had more than a dozen, the source said.

While the leaders were signing the agreement at Solidarity House on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Fain was reading through boilerplate language, the terms, all the key points, the source said. That final review took 20 minutes or so, and everyone in the room was ready to be done, the source told the Free Press.

Fain rattled on about protocol and next steps and the general membership ratification vote and the handshake ceremony after ratification. The room was silent and tense.

The agreement with GM came less than 48 hours after the union struck the automaker's critical Spring Hill Assembly plant in Tennessee.

As Fain referred to the upcoming handshaking ceremony, Barra cut in and said something to the effect of, "Maybe we don't do that," the source in the room told the Free Press.

Fain broke the silence, and burst out laughing while everyone else in the room watched uncomfortably, the source told the Free Press.

Fain responded, "Sounds like a plan to me."

The source in the room who spoke to the Free Press said the incident was so unusual that they wrote it down at the time.

A second source with knowledge of the exchange told the Free Press on Saturday that they, too, recalled that Fain suggested he and Barra "get together for the handshake" after ratification. And Barra said something along the lines of, “You didn’t do the traditional handshake at the start and I don’t think we need one at the end. ... It is a practice that we don’t need to continue."

Then Barra stood up, looked at all the UAW negotiating committee members one by one, and said, "We'll see you back at the plant."

The first source told the Free Press, "She was visibly not happy."

Comment! It's anonymous!

21 replies (most recent on top)

@5hcf+1pr7o2Bw

When you treat employees unfairly they're more likely to go on strike.

@4lgh+1pr7o2Bw

You are placing the strikes at Mary’s feet?
lol wow
The UAW decides to throw its own tantrum.

With 2 UAW strikes, possibly 3 and many layoffs during the tenure, no previous & future CEOs can pass this record. It is really embarrassing to the whole community in the Company.

It seems we need UAW help us find an answer after 4 years.

"Universities in the US" "why they don’t fail"
University tuition has gone parabolic over the last 30 years, leaving students in America with over a trillion in student debt. I wonder why? Why do Universities need to keep American students as life long debt slaves... could it... have... something... to... do... with... pension costs???
Utopia isn't real and America is bankrupt. National debt is over $33 trillion. No more pension bailouts!!!

You can have pensions at the national level because they're not going to cheat.

In the US, we have Social Security, but we have a crazy tax cap exempting wages above a relatively low level from being taxed, basically causing it to be underfunded.

If they eliminate the tax cap, Social Security becomes solvent for at least 80 years. That's a political problem.

Depending on one company for your retirement is very risky. If they do something illegal or go out of business, there goes your pension.

@3mzo+1pr7o2Bw & @3grv+1pr7o2Bw,

TIAA provides the fund with a guarantee 3-4% rate return, and most countries provide pensions for their workers. Is it the reason that the Universities in the US & other countries have a few of strikes and layoffs? Should we learn from them why they don’t fail? We should open our eyes widely and acknowledge our system is not best any more.

@3rsg+1pr7o2Bw

No investment is going to guarantee you a rate of return.

In the real world, you could put your money in a t-bill or cd, but it'll be at whatever the current rate is, which may not be 3-4%.

In a 401k, you can probably invest in a bond fund, but again no 3-4% guarantee.

Pensions are over.

They're too expensive, and companies tend to game the system and underfund them or "borrow" from them, draining them dry.

Then when the company and/or pension fund fails, they dump responsibility for paying the retirees on the taxpayers.

Most of whom don't have pensions themselves.

@3qrd+1pr7o2Bw
“You are in control over your own 401k investments”
We can just control our 401k investments partially because we can ONLY select the funds which Companies give us. If I am given a fund with a fixed rate 3-4%, I’d like to put 100% 401k into that fund. Do you have the above fund in your 401k?

@3dpn+1pr7o2Bw
"restore the pension to increase the trust"

Do you think GM can afford pensions long term? Was there a point in history where the UAW pension obligation bankrupt GM????
Do you think pension managers aren't influenced by cash, gifts and travel for bad investments?
Do you think waitresses and retail clerks who make minimum wage deserve to bail out failed union pensions when they can't even afford to feed themselves?

" reform our 401k"
What does that even mean? You are in control over your own 401k investments and the UAW gets the biggest 401k match in America!!!

"We don’t want wall street who uses our 401k to control us."
You obviously have no idea how 401ks work. Please elaborate on this question.

We need reform our 401k and restore the pension to increase the trust between employers and employees. We don’t want wall street who uses our 401k to control us.

"Lots of people in our industry, both salary and hourly that are living way, way outside their means. Think 2006-2009, only worse."

there are less competing forces today then there was back then
less checks and balances
a few large entities like Blackrock control a large part of our economy
i think our market today is very unstable and artificial
the quality of the companies today are not as good

"and a history of GM moving plants to Mexico after getting strong-armed by the UAW"

So why aren't all the factories in Mexico by now?

Then they wouldn't have to talk to the UAW anymore.

@2uwk+1pr7o2Bw

Maybe that was Fain's reason for not shaking Mary's hand.

@2zrn+1pr7o2Bw
"If you think you are upper class, we will see after 4 years."

I don't see anyone here making that claim.
Here's my message to you: If you think your job is secure and that the UAW has your back, I'll see YOU after -->2<-- years.
If you aren't paying attention to the softening sales, high interest rates, high auto loan repossession rates (highest in record history) and a history of GM moving plants to Mexico after getting strong-armed by the UAW... well... some of us have seen this movie before. You have no leg to stand on in judging others.
Lots of people in our industry, both salary and hourly that are living way, way outside their means. Think 2006-2009, only worse.

If you think you are upper class, we will see after 4 years.

Why shaking hands with a proven liar? It would make you a bad luck, wouldn’t it?

@2rtm+1pr7o2Bw
Actually, no.
Fain set the tone as hostile by refusing to shake. There's no decorum needed after that.
You can't force civility on low class people. Mary had the upper hand; Fain revealed himself as low class.
None of it matters though. The stage is set for management to diminish the numbers of plant workers and plants moving forward. Fain made it a war and he won the battle. But he's been outclassed and time will show this.

So if Mary refused to shake his hand when the deal is signed would that also be VERY low class on her part?

"Fain declined to shake hands with Barra and the other Detroit Three automaker CEOs"
Fain is petty and unprofessional.
Refusing to shake hands in such an agreement is VERY low class.
Kudos to Mary for not falling for his crass manipulation.
From this point on, I am expecting plant closures and for Fain to get entangled in some investigations. I don't think it's an accident the previous 2 UAW presidents are in jail.

Thread regarding General Motors layoffs

A peek behind the scenes: The night GM CEO Mary Barra signed the UAW tentative agreement

21 replies (most recent on top)

Post a reply