Well, folks, let me fill you in on an escalating situation. The United Auto Workers union has decided to up the ante in their ongoing strike against General Motors. And they’re not messing around, targeting a particularly lucrative full-size SUV plant in Texas. This move isn’t random – it’s a calculated response to GM’s strong third-quarter revenue and healthy profits.
This strike expansion involves around 5,000 workers at GM’s Arlington Assembly plant. Now this is no ordinary plant – it churns out big names such as the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban SUVs. And believe me when I say these are some of GM’s bread and butter models.
Here’s where it gets interesting: the strike started mere hours after GM shared its third-quarter earnings results that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. UAW President Shawn Fain was quick to say, “Another record quarter, another record year. As we’ve said for months: record profits equal record contracts.” He believes it’s high time GM workers got their fair share of the pie.
Now, while GM did report declining profits for this quarter, Fain points out that the company still pulled in record third-quarter revenue. However, this strike hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for GM either. In fact, the company revealed that the UAW strike has already cost them a whopping $800 million in lost production even before this latest disruption at Arlington kicked off.
GM expressed disappointment about this escalated strike calling it unnecessary and irresponsible. They highlighted how it affects not just them but also their team members who are sacrificing their livelihoods, their dealers, suppliers, even communities that rely on them.
As of now, more than 45,000 UAW members from various Detroit automakers are on strike – that’s a sizable 31% of union members covered by expired contracts. And due to the ripple effects, about 5% of the workers have been laid off.
The strike began on Sept. 15 with walkouts at assembly plants in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio, and has since grown to include eight assembly plants and 38 parts distribution centers across 22 states. The Arlington strike followed close on the heels of a UAW-targeted plant for Stellantis in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and a Kentucky truck plant responsible for $25 billion annually in revenue for Ford Motor.
In October, Fain warned that a walkout was imminent at the Arlington facility unless