After GM Announces Buyback Plan, It Will Face Union Demands

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Bloomberg

by David WelchJeffrey Green

(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra started off her second year in the job with an activist investor at her door after her first year was largely consumed by a safety investigation over fatally defective ignition switches.

Now she’ll need to contend with the United Auto Workers union, another constituency looking for a slice of GM’s cash pile.

The union heads into contract talks this summer with its veteran members having not had a raise -- or the ability to go on strike -- since at least 2007. Barra, after years of serving the biggest U.S. automaker with internally facing roles in manufacturing engineering, human resources and product development, finds herself again with public challenges.

“It will be a tricky one with the UAW,” said Maryann Keller, an independent auto consultant in Greenwich, Connecticut. “GM just said they will give shareholders $5 billion in dividends and a $5 billion buyback. The union will want to be paid.”

FULL story & video at link.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-09/gm-said-to-plan-share-buyback-for-wilson-to-give-up-seat

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. I'm shocked! The people who actually do the work might want to be paid?

When people who just buy stocks and sit around not doing anything else get billions?

What gall!

[maxrandb]

2. Well,

then those "billionaires" will disburse their profit all over the world in the form of "well-paying" jobs. They are the "Job Creators" after all

[cstanleytech]

3. Well just my opinion but if the workers earn a decent wage now I wouldnt push for a large increase

but instead push to get the workers compensated with more shares of voting stock because in the long term that could give the workers more say so in the running of the company and potentially more power when it comes to future contract negotiations.