The ventilators will be delivered to the national stockpile by August. The contract, worth nearly $500 million, is the first ventilator order placed using the Defense Production Act.
The UAW, the autoworker's union, had been pushing for a two-week shutdown because of worker concerns. Plants will be shut down at least through March 30.
When the union's GM national council reviews the deal's terms Thursday, it will decide whether nearly 50,000 workers should remain on strike or whether they should go back to work immediately.
The UAW strike against GM is in its fourth week, and businesses that supply the automaker are losing millions each day. In Lansing, Mich., more than 11,000 people who supply parts are out of work.
As negotiations continue between the automaker and the union, workers express what motivates them to join the picket line. "One fight, we all fight," one worker says.
General Motors and the United Auto Workers sit down soon to negotiate a new contract. Recession fears and slowing sales are concerns, along with allegations of corruption among UAW leaders.
As part of a major restructuring that will prioritize GM's electric and autonomous vehicle programs, the automaker plans to cut 15 percent of its workforce to save some $6 billion by the end of 2020.
Ten years after the financial crisis, the recovery hasn't reached everywhere. After the plant at which they worked was shuttered, three members of a family saw their lives change in unexpected ways.
In his new book Autonomy, Larry Burns, formerly with General Motors, argues that self-driving, electric cars are inevitable. In an interview with NPR, he addresses the now — and the future.