Former GM Labor Expert Claimed by the Pandemic
Former university professor changed the face of labor negotiations.
GM’s former top labor negotiator, Art Schwartz, died due to complications from COVID-19.
Art Schwartz, one of the principal architects of the labor peace that cleared the way for domestic auto industry to rebuild after the Great Recession, has died due to complications from COVID-19. Schwartz, 72, one of General Motors Co.’s top labor negotiators, died over the weekend in an Ann Arbor hospital.
“I considered him a friend, although I hadn’t talked to him in a while,” said Alan Baum, an analyst from West Bloomfield, Michigan, who has studied automotive production for several years. “What a tragedy.”