WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday urged automaker General Motors (GM) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) to reach an agreement to resolve their differences, as a union-led strike looms.
"Here we go again with General Motors and the United Auto Workers," Trump tweeted. "Get together and make a deal!"
UAW said in a statement earlier in the day that its members at GM will go on strike midnight Monday to secure fair wages, affordable healthcare, proper profit sharing, job security, as well as a path toward permanent seniority for temporary workers.
"We stood up for General Motors when they needed us most," said Terry Dittes, UAW vice president and head of the union's GM department.
"Now we are standing together in unity and solidarity for our Members, their families and the communities where we work and live," Dittes added.
A 2015 contract between the union and the auto giant expired midnight Sunday and negotiations between the two parties had broken down, which triggers the strike.
GM issued a statement Sunday, offering UAW a solution that includes 7 billion U.S. dollars in investment and 5,400 jobs at its U.S. plants.
It also pledged "wage or lump sum increases in all four years" of a contract, an improved profit sharing formula, and a ratification payment of 8,000 dollars per member, among others.
"We urged the UAW leadership to extend bargaining to prevent a strike and we are prepared to negotiate around the clock," GM said in the statement.
UAW said Sunday it would resume talks with GM on Monday morning but still go on strike as planned, according to media reports citing a UAW spokesperson.
Dittes told CBS News that he hoped the talks would be productive and result in "a mutual agreement that is good for everyone involved," the news channel reported.
