The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years, until losing the top spot to Toyota.General Motors operates manufacturing plants in 8 countries. Its four core automobile brands are Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac. It also holds interests in Chinese brands Wuling Motors and Baojun as well as DMAX via joint ventures. BrightDrop is the company's delivery-focused service. GM Defense produces military vehicles for the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of State. OnStar provides vehicle safety, security and information services. ACDelco is the company's auto parts division. The company provides financing via GM Financial. The company is developing self-driving cars through its majority ownership in Cruise LLC.
GM intends to end production and sales of vehicles using internal combustion engines, including hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrids by 2035, as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. GM offers more flexible-fuel vehicles, which can operate on either E85 ethanol fuel or gasoline, or any blend of both, than any other automaker.The company traces itself to a holding company for Buick established on September 16, 1908, by William C. Durant, the largest seller of horse-drawn vehicles at the time. The current entity was established in 2009 after the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization.GM is ranked 22nd on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage, caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the Industrial Revolution, when mass labor became important in factories and mines. In most countries, strike actions were quickly made illegal, as factory owners had far more power than workers. Most Western countries partially legalized striking in the late 19th or early 20th centuries.
Strikes are sometimes used to pressure governments to change policies. Occasionally, strikes destabilize the rule of a particular political party or ruler; in such cases, strikes are often part of a broader social movement taking the form of a campaign of civil resistance. Notable examples are the 1980 Gdańsk Shipyard, and the 1981 Warning Strike, led by Lech Wałęsa. These strikes were significant in the long campaign of civil resistance for political change in Poland, and were an important mobilizing effort that contributed to the fall of the Iron Curtain and the end of communist party rule in eastern Europe.
1998Jun, 5
A strike begins at the General Motors parts factory in Flint, Michigan, that quickly spreads to five other assembly plants. The strike lasts seven weeks.
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Events on 1998
- 4May
Unabomber
A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty. - 6May
Houston Astros
Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start. - 26May
Ellis Island
The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York. - 4Jun
Oklahoma City bombing
Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. - 5Jun
General Motors
A strike begins at the General Motors parts factory in Flint, Michigan, that quickly spreads to five other assembly plants. The strike lasts seven weeks.