UAW threatens strike at GM
The United Auto Workers set a deadline of this morning to strike General Motors Corp. if a new contract isn’t reached, even as the two sides continued bargaining late Sunday, according to a local union Web site.
The deadline to reach an agreement was set for 8 a.m. PDT today, according to a posting on the Web site of UAW Local 160 in Warren.
GM said in a statement Sunday night that it is working with the union to resolve issues.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said as recently as Friday that the union was trying to speed up negotiations and reach an agreement without a strike. The union may be trying to ratchet up the pressure on GM to get a deal done.
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.
A local UAW official said earlier Sunday that negotiators have wrapped up work on most issues and were determining how much money GM must put into a trust fund for retiree health care that will be managed by the UAW. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.
Father finds son dead in vat of acid
An 18-year-old fell into a vat of sulfuric acid and died after apparently being overcome by fumes, police said. His body was discovered by his father Sunday at a circuit board factory where they both worked.
The San Mateo County coroner’s office identified the victim as Fernando Jimenez Gonzalez, of Redwood City. Gonzalez had been submerging circuit boards in the vat at Coastal Circuits, Redwood City police said.
Gonzalez’s father went to the factory when his son did not come home from his shift and discovered the body.
Police were investigating and an autopsy was planned.
ST. PAUL, Minn.
Man tears head from hotel duck
A man was in custody Sunday after police said he ripped the head off a tame duck that lived in a hotel lobby’s ornamental pond.
Scott D. Clark, a guest at the Embassy Suites Hotel in St. Paul, cornered the duck early Saturday morning, grabbed the bird and ripped its head from its body while a hotel security guard and others watched, police said.
Clark then turned to onlookers and said: “I’m hungry. I’m gonna eat it,” St. Paul police Sgt. John Wuorinen said.
“He was allegedly drunk,” Wuorinen said.
Clark, 26, of Denver, remained jailed Sunday on suspicion of felony animal cruelty and was scheduled to appear in court today to be charged.
“I think Embassy Suites needs to take another look at this and review how they keep ducks safe, or use fish like most hotels would use,” said Tim Shields, general counsel with the Minnesota Federated Humane Societies.