At their convention today in Detroit, the United Autoworkers Union will elect a new president, ending the eight-year tenure of Ron Gettelfinger. Gettelfinger led the union through one of the most difficult periods in its history. The UAW was once one of the largest and most influential unions in the country, but these days its membership is the smallest it’s been since the end of World War II.

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has been asked to step down only eight months after taking the helm of the embattled automaker. The announcement came following a GM board meeting on Tuesday. For the past eight months Henderson and GM have been dogged by questions about whether a man who had spent the past 25 years of his career with GM was really the "change" that the company needs. Will Marcum is a GM line worker who says that Henderson's resignation will be bad for morale at the struggling company, but that many auto workers agree it is time for some new blood at the top. Micheline Maynard covers the auto industry for our partner, The New York Times and is the author of "The Selling of the American Economy: How Foreign Companies are Remaking the American Dream," She says the move came as "a shock, but not a surprise."

Incivility in the workplace is an unfortunate side effect of the recession, where jobs are scarce and everyone is aiming to hold on to whatever work they have. Takeaway contributor Beth Kobliner says there are ways to stay in-the-know without being a gossip at work. We also talk with Will Marcum, a former GM plant worker of 20 years in Pontiach, Mich., to hear about his story of office politics during the economic downturn.

With GM likely to declare bankruptcy on June 1st, autoworkers are gearing up for another round of bad news. How are the workers bracing themselves? The Takeaway talks to Will Marcum, who works on full-sized trucks for GM in Pontiac, Michigan.

For more of Will Marcum's thoughts on GM listen to his earlier interviews on The Takeaway.

President Obama said it’s going to take sacrifices from all sides to successfully restructure the auto industry. Yesterday he unveiled his plan, which calls for replacing the leadership of GM and making sure that the America's carmakers forge ahead as leaner companies. But what do the autoworkers, the ones who tighten the nuts and bolts on every car that crosses the assembly line, make of this plan? The Takeaway is joined by Will Marcum and Terry Harden, longtime UAW workers in GM's assembly plant in Pontiac, Michigan.

Miss the President's address? Here it is:

Later today President Obama is set to unveil his new plan to revive the flailing U.S. auto industry. As part of the administration's strategy, GM CEO Rick Wagoner was asked to step down. What does his departure mean for GM workers? For GM's employees and unions this question weighs heavily on their minds. We are joined now by Will Marcum, a UAW autoworker in Detroit, who has been grappling with the ousting of his CEO.

As we've been reporting all morning, a procedural vote in the US Senate dashed any hopes of a bailout for the auto industry. One person who is not happy with this decision is GM worker, Will Marcum who joins us from Pontiac Michigan.