GM workers strike could cost $5 billion

A strike of ten days of the workers of General Motors (GM)Ford and Stellantis in the United States would cost US $ 5,000 million, according to a study released on Thursday.

The study, carried out by the firm Anderson Economic Group (AEG), is released a few days before the 143,000 of the three automobile manufacturers affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union vote to authorize the approval of the strike if the labor negotiations do not advance.

GM, Ford and Stellantis are negotiating with the UAW to sign a new four-year collective bargaining agreement. The current agreement expires on September 14 and the UAW has warned that the negotiations are not advancing, so it could call a strike from that date.

The union wants, among other demands, a staggered wage increase of 46% and the inclusion in the UAW of workers in future battery production plants.

The study estimates that a ten-day strike would cost UAW-affiliated workers $859 million in lost wages. For companies, the cost would be US$989 million.

The rest of the losses, up to $5 billion, would be suffered by workers and companies that depend on the three big US manufacturers.

AEG CEO Patrick Anderson recalled in a statement that when GM’s 48,000 workers went on strike in 2019, the state of Michigan, where a large part of the company’s production plants are located, suffered a recession for a quarter.

Anderson added that if the UAW strikes at GM, Ford and Stellantis, the walkout “It will impact the economies of Michigan and the entire country.”

Source: EFE