Jeez, we walk in the door after getting back to Detroit from the Frankfurt Auto Show and the whole world's gone to heck in a handbasket. We're telling ya — ya leave your back turned on this town for even a second and, yup, GM just got picked by the UAW to be their strike target. We'll let Automotive News take it over from here — mostly because we're jet-lagged and can't think straight:

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger told General Motors local representatives late this afternoon that GM is the lead company of negotiations and that the locals should prepare for a strike, if necessary, a source familiar with the talks said.

The union traditionally selects a strike target during contract talks, then negotiates a deal with that automaker first. That agreement is then used as the pattern for contracts with the other automakers.

The Detroit 3's current four-year contract with the UAW expires at day's end Friday, Sept. 14. The UAW is bargaining on behalf of about 190,000 active Detroit 3 employees.

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