Long Talks Suggest Gm, Uaw Far Apart

Marathon talks between negotiators for General Motors Corp. and striking workers at two brake plants that continued Tuesday without a pact suggested wide differences remain between the two sides, labor experts said.

“There’s no reason for optimism,” said Dale Brickner, a labor professor at Michigan State University. “There’s just reason to believe they’re going to argue the thing through as far as they can. It gets gloomier by the day.”

General Motors and United Auto Workers Local 696 recently have decided not to release any information about their differences as they try to negotiate an end to the strike by 2,700 workers that has entered its third week.

The strike has crippled 26 of GM’s 29 assembly plants and 17 parts plants. It also has affected dozens of parts plants and independent GM suppliers.