FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) UAW Local 2209, which represents thousands of workers at the GM Fort Wayne Assembly where full-size pickups are built, confirms a published report that it has threatened to strike the automaker over staffing issues. The report from radio station WBOI was posted on its website Wednesday morning and aired during its newscasts. Local 2209 Shop Chair Rich LeTourneau says he has given GM until the end of the week to remove senior staff from filling holes in second and third shifts vacated by temporary workers who were released earlier this week. He has notified the national UAW of the situation, saying GM doesn't have the authority to assign senior staff to second or third shift. The temporary workers, around 250 in all, were let go by GM because of the lack of an agreement with the union regarding their employment. When reached earlier this week about the temporary workers situation, GM declined an interview but provided a statement: The company and UAW have been unable to reach an agreement for extending part-time temporary team members at Fort Wayne Assembly. According to the provisions of our National UAW-GM contract, without an agreement, we will be required to release about 250 temporary employees on September 30, 2024.” AZISHIA SEASE, GENERAL MOTORS WANE 15 has reached out to GM for response to the strike threat. So far we have not gotten a response. LeTourneau and the UAW want temporary workers to have a path to full employment, something he claims GM will never do. There are over 4,000 workers at the local plant producing a total of more than 1,300 trucks daily, including the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500.