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GM Idles Chevy Malibu, Cadillac XT4 Production As UAW Strike Continues

General Motors is idling production at the GM Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas City, Kansas as a result of the ongoing UAW labor strike. The GM Fairfax Assembly plant produces the Chevy Malibu sedan and Cadillac XT4 crossover. The UAW says it will expand the strike to include additional facilities on Friday in the event that significant progress is not made in reaching a new contract.

Signage in front of the GM Fairfax assembly plant.

According to a report from Detroit Free Press, GM idled the Fairfax Assembly plant around 1 p.m. Wednesday. The automaker states that the decision to idle the Farifax facility is due to a shortage of stampings supplied by the GM Wentzville plant in Missouri. The UAW called for a strike at the Wentzville plant last week following the expiration of the previous labor contract on Thursday. The Wentzville plant produces the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, as well as the Chevy Express and GMC Savana vans.

The UAW is currently employing a strategy wherein only select facilities are targeted, rather than all facilities all at once, which the UAW says provides union representatives with greater flexibility in negotiations.

Most of the 2,000 workers across two shifts at the Fairfax plant have been laid off indefinitely due to a shortage of stampings from Wentzville. GM says that employees are not expected to return to work at the Fairfax facility until “the situation has been resolved.” Additionally, GM says that because the layoffs are the result of the strike, workers at the Fairfax facility are not eligible for sub pay, which usually supplements state unemployment in the event of a plant shutdown.

In a statement, UAW President Shawn Fain addressed GM’s decision to idle production at the GM Fairfax plant:

“Let’s be clear – if the Big Three decide to lay people off who aren’t on strike, that’s them trying to put the squeeze on our members to settle for less.” Fain added that the UAW will support workers affected by the layoffs. UAW strike pay amounts to $500 per week.

The UAW has called for strikes at three production facilities so far, including the GM Wentzville plant in Missouri, Ford’s Wayne Assembly plant in Michigan, and the Stellantis Toledo Complex in Ohio. The UAW represents 146,000 autoworkers across all three of the Big Detroit makes.

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. SUB pay is unfair in its premise. Everybody else if they have an income and receiving UC, they start deducting it from your UC.

    Reply
  2. ““Let’s be clear – if the Big Three decide to lay people off who aren’t on strike, that’s them trying to put the squeeze on our members to settle for less.”

    Nice attempt at deflection there. We will just all totally ignore the fact that if there was no strike there would have been no layoffs…but ok. Keep pushing for your 40% wage increase and 4 day work week. Maybe there will be some workers left to actually return to work by the time the negotiations are done…

    Reply
  3. Unions are an anachronism, time to put them on the ash heap of history. Laws do almost everything unions were originally needed for, time to move on from the past. Electing a belligerent IRA terrorist type as their leader shows how desperate they have become.

    Reply
  4. I have been a union member for 30 plus years and think the UAW’s strategy was poorly thought out. Striking at only a select few plants? It won’t hasten the barging process, leaving some of the union members without unemployment benefits. I wish you all well during this set of negotiations.

    Reply
  5. This is the plan of the UAW, strike critical plants that will eventually cause down stream to have to stop production. Then the workers get UC instead of pay from union coffers.

    Reply
  6. Build what you can then lock the doors.

    Reply
  7. Can’t wait to get my next Korean built GM vehicle! GM will have massive layoffs in US and production will move out of our country . Just what the Biden administration wants.

    Reply
  8. Look they are planning for a long strike so many faculties will be closed. No need to make parts if you are not going to build cars.

    The union hit the primary plants to stretch out their funds but they will burn through them fast. in the end it will get ugly.

    As this goes on the American public have seen the offers and many wish they were getting the same offers that were rejected so the Union is not going to win the PR battle here.

    I still feel Fain has over stepped here and to be honest he acts as if he is wanting to drive the work to China with such crazy demands.

    One has to wonder is he being paid by an agent of China to do what he is doing? Imagine him taking money to drive work from this country with crazy demands.

    They are paying the Presidents son. Or should I say they are buying his Art.

    The way to defeat our country is from with in. We already have seen how they work.

    Reply
  9. I thought Kansas City was in Missouri. But I’m a foreigner so….checked a map and see it’s a shared city. So weird.

    Reply
    1. It’s not a shared city.
      2 different cities in two different states.

      Reply
  10. UAW = Tick
    Big 3 = Dog
    Kill the dog.
    What happens to the tick?

    Workers are pawns in all this – Wake up. UAW doesn’t care for you or your families. It’s all political for their agenda not yours.

    Reply
  11. Parts are needed. My 2022 c8 corvette stuck at dealers needs a master cylinder after 8,000 miles.

    Reply
  12. Doesn’t any one see the ev cars n trucks are going two take jobs from the parts man two the coffie shop near the plant what do you think they should do

    Reply
  13. The UAW is asking for the consumer to pay more for the cars that are made here in America. The consumer will buy from the non American companies because it cheaper and will make American auto makers not sell as many vehicles and will bring a loss of jobs when they close plants due to low sales and demand. More vehicle building will be moved to other countries. The UAW will hurt this economy and this country. Nice union!!!!!

    Reply
    1. The UAW doesn’t set car prices.

      Reply

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