Auto workers end strike

GM will shift healthcare liability to union-run trust

Autoworkers returned to work on Wednesday (Sept. 26) after a two-day strike. Union leaders struck a deal with GM to create a healthcare trust fund. Members are expected to ratify the agreement this weekend.

The agreement shifts more than $50 billion in healthcare liabilities from GM to an independent, union-aligned trust. The arrangement is expected to allow GM to cut in half its labor-cost gap with Japanese automakers.

The strike appears to have helped the Detroit manufacturer in another way as well. The two days that 73,000 UAW members were on strike resulted in 25,000 planned vehicles not being made, allowing GM to trim its inventories.

The price for GM stock rose about nine percent on word of the settlement.