Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors Co. (GM), left, and Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, center, listen during a press conference outside the White House after a meeting with the president of the United States, Donald Trump, without photo, in Washington, DC
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | fake pictures
General Motors is seeking to remove a judge who called its civilian organized crime lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler a “waste of time” and to overturn an order earlier this week calling for the CEOs of the companies to meet independently to resolve their problems.
The Detroit automaker filed a petition Friday afternoon with the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to grant mandamus, dismissing Tuesday’s order from the US District Court Judge. Paul Borman for the parties to meet before July 1 and reassign the case in pretrial detention.
“Our commitment to justice includes the responsibility to expose corruption in our industry when we find out and seek harm when we are attacked and suffer direct harm,” GM said in an emailed statement. “Failing to seek justice rewards wrongdoers at the expense of honest and hard-working people.”
The automaker also rejected “the notion that seeking justice for direct harm caused to GM is a ‘waste of time’, a ‘distraction’ or a ‘distraction'” of larger and more pressing problems, such as the coronavirus and the racial injustice that follows The death of George Floyd. All were points used by Borman during a hearing on Tuesday that included Fiat Chrysler asking the judge to dismiss GM’s lawsuit.
“General Motors has played a vital role in helping the country combat the COVID-19 pandemic, advance diversity and inclusion, and drive prosperity with well-paying jobs,” the company said in the statement. “Nothing, including the RICO lawsuit we filed against FCA and three convicted former FCA executives, has distracted or will distract GM and its leadership team from ‘providing their vision and leadership’ on these critical issues now and in the future.”
Fiat Chrysler, in a statement emailed Tuesday, agreed with “Borman’s observation that these are extraordinary times for our country, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic death of George Floyd. and the attention that has focused on racism and social justice. “
Fiat Chrysler was not immediately available to comment on GM’s presentation on Friday afternoon.
GM filed the extortion suit in November, alleging that the company was hurt as a result of “corrupt” collective bargaining that involved Fiat Chrysler leaders bribing union officials to adopt favorable positions for the company that resulted in unfair labor costs. He argued that although the United Auto Workers union uses “modeled” negotiations, GM did not receive the same benefits as the Italian-American automaker.
Gary Jones, the newly elected president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), addresses the 37th UAW Constitutional Convention on June 14, 2018 at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images News | fake pictures
Much of the lawsuit centers on the late Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, who died unexpectedly in 2018 and has been implicated in a federal investigation into the union’s bribery and corruption.
The United States Department of Justice case is ongoing, however, federal prosecutors in May said GM was not currently the target of the yearlong investigation.
GM is seeking unspecified damages in the billions that, according to the lawsuit, “will be used to invest in the United States to increase jobs and to the benefit of employees.”
The federal investigation has resulted in 14 convictions, including former UAW President Gary Jones and 10 other union-affiliated officials, as well as three former Fiat Chrysler executives.
.
