Sep. 24--Even as its negotiators remained at the table with General Motors Corp. through the night, the UAW issued a statement early this morning that said its members would walk out on a national strike today at 11 a.m. unless the company would agree to bargain on the issue of job security.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Cal Rapson issued a news release on behalf of the union bargaining team at 1:40 a.m.

"We're shocked and disappointed that General Motors has failed to recognize and appreciate what our membership has contributed during thepast four years," Gettelfinger was quoted as saying. "Since 2003, our members have made extraordinary efforts every time the company came to us with a problem: the corporate restructuring, the attrition plan, the Delphi bankruptcy, the 2005 health care agreement. In every case, our members went the extra mile to find reasonable solutions."

Talks were continuing at 4:45 a.m. EDT, said GM spokesman Dan Flores. He said the automaker is working with the union to resolve issues.

Gettelfinger referenced the union's cooperation on GM's restructuring plan that included a health-care concession, a special attrition program that reduced the hourly workforce by more than 34,000, and a labor deal with the automaker's former parts arm -- Delphi Corp.-- that helped move the auto supplier closer to emerging from bankruptcy.

Rapson echoed Gettelfinger's sentiments in the same statement saying: "The company's disregard for our members has forced our bargaining committee to take this course of action. Unless UAW members hear otherwise between now and the deadline, we will be on a national strike against GM at 11:00 a.m."

Before the union issued its formal statement, GM responded to the news that its bargaining partner had set a strike deadline with a formal statement, saying:"The contract talks involve complex, difficult issues that affect the job security of our U.S. workforce and the long-term viability of the company," GM said in the statement. "We are fully committed to working with the UAW to develop solutions together to address the competitive challenges facing General Motors. We will continue focusing our efforts on reaching an agreement as soon as possible."

Talks continued as of 2:40 a.m. On Sunday, people familiar with the talks said they appeared to be on track for a tentative agreement this week.

The UAW's contract with GM was set to expire Sept. 14, but the union has been extending it on an hour-by-hour basis since then. Shortly before the contracts with domestic automakers expired, the UAW named GM as the lead company -- and strike target -- for talks while extending contracts with Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.

Earlier in the day Sunday, before the union set the strike deadline, some analysts believed that the naming of a deadline would be a good sign.

"The thing I would look for is a deadline," said David Cole, Chairman of the Center for Automotive Resources. "If I were to hear a deadline, that would tell me they probably have it settled."

Cole said it was difficult to believe the union would risk a strike, because reaching an agreement is critical for both the company and the union.

But a person briefed on the talks said the strike deadline was being taken seriously, not as a bargaining ploy.

The talks have hinged on the creation of a retiree health-care trust -- known as a voluntary employee beneficiary association, or VEBA. People familiar with the talks said the parties agreed to a general framework on a VEBA on Friday and have progressed wth negotiating other core financial issues dependent on that trust since then.

A VEBA would transfer the responsibility for the automaker's more than $50 billion in hourly retiree health-care commitments to an independent trust that is expected to have oversight from the union. GM has proposed funding the trust at a percentage of that obligation, though, which workers and analysts say will result in more expensive health benefits for U.S. hourly autoworkers at some point, if not immediately.

Last week, people familiar with the talks said, GM told the union that if a VEBA could not be established, the company would have to move substantial U.S. production to other countries.

In exchange for agreeing to a VEBA, the UAW has demanded the automaker agree to job security issues, such as commiting future products to U.S. manufacturing facilities.

Contact KATIE MERX at 313-222-8762 or kmerx@freepress.com.

Credit: Detroit Free Press