You probably didn't hear it wrong....
Usually when the UAW pulls its crap, it does cost GM (and Ford, and Chrysler) a lot of money, which of course they pass on to the consumer. So, that is probably what was being reported.
However, since this little "chest puffing" flair up by the UAW was really nothing but a show, it ended so quickly that those people reporting on it were just getting to their "initial thoughts" kind of articles while the real situation was wrapping up. From what I read, GM didn't really give in on much, shifted the healthcare costs to the Union, got some different pay scales for non-core workers (meaning those that don't work directly on assembly), etc.
Here's a very short article that gives a little info.
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-new...r-ar44303.html
Question....where the hell does the Union get off? "Guaranteed job security"? Who the hell has that? Again, the Unions (yes, all of them) have outlived their usefulness and need to go away. I apologize to those of you in Unions, but it's true. I think the jobs need to stay here and the Unions need to go away.
If the UAW isn't going to go away, then Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc should have to use the same union workforce to build cars here in the US, like the American car companies do. That would help level the playing field.
Alright, I'm done ranting now.