GM CEO Reportedly "In The Room" With UAW, Signaling Deal Could Be Close Update (1000ET): Bloomberg reports that: *GM CEO IS SAID TO BE IN ROOM FOR UAW TALKS WITH AGREEMENT NEAR And GM shares jumped... * * * The four week long UAW strike at General Motors could finally be inching closer to an end, according to ABC Detroit. Talks are resuming this morning and the union has sent out a call to all GM-UAW local presidents, chairpersons and local leaders to be in Detroit on Thursday. These are members of the Union Council who would be responsible for discussing and voting on a tentative agreement, should one be reached. However, both the union and the company have cautioned against assuming the meeting is a sign that a deal has been put into place, according to CNN. This marks the first time since the strike began that the council has been called to a meeting in Detroit. One source said that "a lot of progress was made over the weekend." "Clearly, things have progressed to the point that the union felt compelled to call this meeting," the source said. The letter says the agenda will include a "contract update" and other items to be determined. Local union leaders will be coming to Detroit from 10 different states where GM has operations. The UAW's strike has caused 46,000 workers at 34 plants nationwide to step off the job so far. Two weeks ago we noted that negotiations had hit a snag over product commitments for U.S. factories. We also recently documented how the strike was pressuring component manufacturers. Days prior to that we reported that the UAW was considering a symbolic vote of "no confidence" for GM CEO Mary Barra, perhaps to try and get a leg up on negotiations with the company. We first reported on the strike in mid September. GM workers last went on strike during contract talks in 2007. That strike only lasted two days, but a more serious strike occurred in Flint, Michigan, in 1998, lasting 54 days and costing the No. 1 US automaker more than $2 billion. The union has been struggling to stop GM from closing plants in Ohio and Michigan while arguing that workers deserve higher pay after years of record profits. At the same time, GM insists that it needs to shutter the plants for economic reasons, and that UAW wages and benefits are too high to compete with non-union auto plants in the south. Bank of America now estimates that the current strike has cost GM $2 billion. Analyst John Murphy said this morning: "A prolonged strike could burn significant cash and bring GM to its knees, but investors likely will also react negatively if management is perceived to have caved into labor’s demands and GM’s long-term competitiveness is threatened." Meanwhile, striking workers rely on weekly paychecks of just $250 while on strike. Tyler Durden Tue, 10/15/2019 - 10:01 Tags Labor