One of the key agreements in the new GM-UAW contract is a trust fund for employee and retiree health care benefits. It allows GM to erase tens of billions of dollars of liability from its books. But it still might not be enough. Alisa Roth reports.
There's no indication how long the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors will last, or how much damage it might do to an already battered economy. But commentator Dan Neil says the strike is about something bigger than that, anyway.
The UAW is about as set as it can be for a walkout, with about $800 million in its strike fund — enough to give every striker $200 a day and medical benefits for two months. Kai Ryssdal talked with Doug Rademacher, president of UAW local 602 in Lansing, Mich.
At General Motors this morning 73,000 UAW members walked off the job and onto the picket lines in the first nationwide strike against an American car maker since 1976. Until the walkout, negotiations had appeared positive. Alisa Roth reports on where things got off track.
Working Mother magazine releases its annual list tomorrow of the 100 best companies for parent-friendly policies. Amy Scott reports the list also places some of its advertisers in the top ranks.
Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the U.S., and that's led to a shortage of cement. And the largest cement maker in the country, a Mexican company called Cemex, is setting up shop. Dan Grech has more.
Most of us have left bullies behind in the schoolyard . . . or have we? As Andrea Gardner found out, there's a disturbing new trend in office harassment claims. Is there a sheep in wolf's clothing in your office?
General Motors and the United Auto Workers today got back to hammering out a new contract that could be a model for deals with Ford and Chrysler. Jeff Tyler reports the two sides are getting creative to solve the critical problem of healthcare costs.
Not too long ago, there was talk about the "China Price" — multinational firms shifting production to countries with lax laws and few regulations, where costs were lower. Commentator and economist Arthur Kroeber says now there should be a real price to pay.
