Massive UAW Strikes Begin At GM, Ford, And Chrysler

The affected automakers have started responding to the strike, with GM issuing a statement on the matter claiming they are "disappointed by the UAW leadership's actions, despite the unprecedented economic package GM put on the table, including historic wage increases and manufacturing commitments."

However, the automaker claims it "will continue to bargain in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible for the benefit of our team members, customers, suppliers and communities across the US. In the meantime, our priority is the safety of our workforce."

一个t the time of writing, neither Ford nor Stellantis had commented on the start of the strike action.

UAW President Shawn Fain has labeled the strike action as a "righteous fight" for the working class, and joined picketing auto workers shortly after midnight on Friday, praising their efforts.

Speaking to一个utomotive News,欣然地说,“他们第一批我damn proud of them." He also claimed the union would remain on strike for as long as it takes for their voices to be heard. UAW has not budged much on its original demands tabled on August 3. Ford called the demands "unsustainable" in a press release yesterday.

Ford claims that it has "bargained in good faith in an effort to avoid a strike, which could have wide-ranging consequences for our business and the economy," and that the strike action would "impact the very 57,000 UAW-Ford workers we are trying to reward with this contract," citing reduced strike pay and smaller profit-sharing payouts due to decreased output as the issues workers will face.

一个ffected plants at this stage are the GM Wentzville assembly plant, the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex, and Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant.

The knock-on effects for the industry as a whole could be massive. Prolonged strike action could see more workers downing tools, with outputs grinding to a halt. While this would impact suppliers' income, it would also see available stock of high-demand vehicles dwindle, leading to price gouging and sky-high secondhand market prices, the likes of which we've onlyjust escaped the clutches ofpost-pandemic.

一个s for the UAW's demands that have been deemed unsustainable, the union is seeking a 36% wage increase over four years (OEMs are only willing to commit to 20%), an end to tiered employment (i.e. being paid your worth regardless of the duration you've worked), less reliance on temporary workers, the restoration of employment benefits that were cut during the 2008 recession, reduced mandatory overtime, and proper retirement benefits, and worker protection as automakers move into the EV era. The latter has been a particularly sore point, with many US factories shuttered in the last 24 months, including the Belvidere, Illinois plantwhere the Jeep Cherokee was assembled.