White House says not involved in contract talks with GM, UAW union

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is not involved in contract talks with General Motors Co <GM.N> and the United Auto Workers union, aimed at ending a nationwide strike that began late on Sunday, a White House spokesman and GM said.

"The Trump Administration, including Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro, are not involved in the negotiations between the UAW and GM," said White House spokesman Judd Deere.

Politico reported earlier Tuesday that the two senior White House officials were "both involved in the talks," citing an unnamed person.

Talks resumed earlier on Tuesday after a lengthy session on Monday, after the UAW on Sunday launched the first company-wide strike at GM in 12 years, saying negotiations towards a new national agreement covering about 48,000 hourly workers had hit an impasse.

Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday the administration hopes the union will work out "your differences with GM.”

President Donald Trump said Monday he hoped the strike would be resolved quickly. He said in response to a question that federal mediation is always a possibility if the parties want it.

A UAW spokesman said he could not comment on a report about White House involvement because "we don’t know about it."

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski)