US motor strike spreads to key General Motors assembly plant

The Union United Auto Workers (UAW) this Tuesday extended the strike in the United States automobile sector to the assembly plant of General Motors (GM) in Arlington (Texas), one of the company’s most important plants, shortly after it announced US$ 3,305 million in profits in the third quarter.

The president of UAW, Shawn Fainjustified the extension of the strike, which began on September 15, due to GM’s large profits and its refusal to accept the union’s demands for the signing of a new collective agreement.

“Another record quarter, another record year. As we have been saying for months: record profits mean record collective agreements. Now it is up to GM workers and the entire working class to receive what is fair”Fain stated in a statement.

The Arlington plant employs 5,322 people and produces GM’s most profitable SUVs: the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade-V.

On Monday, the UAW unexpectedly expanded the strike to the Michigan assembly plant, which produces some of the manufacturer’s most profitable vehicles and employs about 6,800 people.

After the strike at the Arlington plant, the sector strike now affects 46 GM, Ford and Stellantis workplaces and some 46,000 workers.

UAW explained that even though GM has made more than US$10 billion in profits from January to September, exceeding Wall Street expectations, “GM’s latest offer does not reward UAW affiliates”.

This Tuesday, in a conference call with analysts and the media, GM CEO Mary Barra hinted that the offer presented to UAW It is the maximum that can be offered without risking the future of the company.

“Accepting high costs that are not sustainable would put our future at risk, as well as the jobs of GM workers, and risking our future is something I will not do.”he declared.

For his part, the financial director of G.M., Paul Jacobsonstated in “around 200 million dollars” the cost of the strike in the third quarter and increased the impact to 600 million in the first three weeks of the fourth quarter.

Jacobson said the strike was costing GM $200 million a week.based on facilities affected as of yesterday (Monday)”, so the Arlington strike will increase losses.

UAW On September 15, a progressive and simultaneous strike began at GM, Ford and Stellantis, the three large manufacturers in the United States, which has no precedent in the history of the union, due to the lack of an agreement to sign a new collective agreement.

Fain has justified the strategy by the decline that workers’ wages and rights have suffered in the last 15 years despite more than a decade of great benefits for the so-called Big Three of Detroit.