Members of the United Automobile Workers union walked off the job today at General Motors plants across the country after union leaders and company officials failed to reach an agreement in contentious talks on a new contract. It is the first national strike by the union against GM since 1970. That strike lasted for two months. The UAW last struck GM at two plants in Flint, Mich., in 1998, in a strike that went on for seven weeks. ?This is nothing we wanted,? the union?s president, Ron Gettelfinger, said at a midday news conference. ?Nobody wins in a strike.? Workers left their jobs at 11 a.m. Eastern time, after a strike deadline set by the union late Sunday passed without a deal.
See "G.M. Workers Begin Walkout Over Contract Impasse", Micheline Maynard and Nick Bunkley, The New York Times, September 23, 2007