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Clinton watching GM case
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June 11, 1998: 3:24 p.m. ET
Second strike looms as Flint Metal Center dispute enters seventh day
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The White House said Thursday it stands ready to intervene in the seven-day labor dispute between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers as a second strike in Flint, Mich., appeared on the horizon.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Barry Toiv said they are "closely monitoring" the dispute, which erupted June 5 at the Flint Metal Center between UAW Local 659 and the nation's largest automaker (GM).
If requested, the Clinton administration is ready to send in federal mediators to help resolve the strike, which by midday Thursday had caused the furlough of 24,500 other workers at 11 GM plants around the nation.
Toiv said it remains too early to assess the overall impact of the strike on the economy but the administration hopes it will be resolved quickly.
And GM is expected to come under increased pressure to settle the dispute with metal stamping workers if a second strike breaks out at a nearby GM Delphi East facility.
The second UAW branch, Local 651, will have authorization to strike as of 7 p.m. Thursday. Negotiations between Local 651 and GM's Delphi unit have continued around the clock.
The Delphi facility makes spark plugs, filters and electronic parts such as cruise control systems for nearly every GM vehicle in North America. Observers said if the Delphi workers strike, it could cripple the automaker within hours.
At the center of both negotiations is efficiency. The UAW claimed it has bent over backwards to raise production and quality levels in the plants while GM continues to downsize and send work to Mexico and China.
GM is said to want to reduce its work force in the name of competitiveness, while the union is fighting to preserve as many jobs and members as possible. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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