GM, labor union tensions rise over China import idea

Tension likely to upset contract talks with labor union

Tension over General Motors’ decision to consider importing Chinese-made Buicks to the USA is colliding with contract talks between the automaker and the United Auto Workers about a month before a deadline to reach a new union deal.

The UAW blasted GM on Tuesday for weighing a plan to be- come the first Detroit automaker to sell a Chinese-made vehicle in the USA. The Buick Envision, a compact crossover assembled at a plant southeast of Beijing, could be sold in the USA by late 2016.

The union’s public statement makes the compact crossover a key bargaining chip in contract talks. UAW members are likely to vote this month on whether to authorize strikes in the event that negotiators fail to reach accords in September.

The UAW, which represents about 141,000 hourly workers at GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, hopes to secure the first pay raises for older members in more than a decade. Preserving jobs and securing new vehicles for U.S. plants are also top goals.

“After the sacrifices made by U.S. taxpayers and the U.S. workforce to make General Motors the profitable, quality company it is today, UAW members are disappointed with the tone-deaf speculation that the Envision would be imported from China,” said Cindy Estrada, UAW’s vice president in charge of GM talks.

Estrada’s statement comes amid heightened political scrutiny over U.S. trade with China. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders have railed against American politicians for giving China the upper hand.

The UAW’s immediate priority is securing new contracts for its workers after its four-year deals expire Sept. 14. The union wants to reduce the pay gap between recent hires and longtime workers at GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, while preserving yearly profitsharing checks. The automakers want to limit labor costs.

Buick spokesman Nick Richards said Monday that talk of the Envision coming from China to the USA is speculation, but he acknowledged GM is “looking at all the opportunities” for the vehicle.