The United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union has expanded its strike against General Motors, this time calling on workers at the GM Arlington plant in Texas to walk out. The GM Arlington plant is considered the most-profitable auto plant in the world, producing The General’s full-size SUV models, including the Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Suburban, Chevy Tahoe, and GMC Yukon. The strike was announced mere hours after the release of General Motors’ third-quarter earnings report, which was highlighted by $44.1 billion in revenue, net income attributable to stockholders of $3.1 billion and EBIT-adjusted of $3.6 billion.
“Another record quarter, another record year,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “As we’ve said for months: record profits equal record contracts. It’s time GM workers, and the whole working class, get their fair share.”
The strike at the Arlington facility adds a further 5,000 workers to the UAW picket lines. It’s estimated that more than 45,000 UAW workers are now on strike across the Big Three Detroit automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis). The UAW represents 150,000 workers across all three makes. The union is currently employing a targeted strike strategy wherein workers at certain facilities are called on to walkout, as opposed to all workers at all facilities, all at once.
The UAW announced its initial round of strike targets on September 15th following the expiration of the previous labor contracts, marking the first time the union has called for strikes at all three of the Big Detroit automakers simultaneously. The UAW has expanded its strike against the Big Three on several occasions since, most recently targeting Stellantis’ Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP) and Ford’s Kentucky Truck plant.
The UAW says the decision to strike at the GM Arlington plant is based on slowing progress in the contract negotiations, with the union citing General Motors’ proposed two-tier wage progression, low 401(k) contribution offer, and deficient COLA (cost of living allowance) among the proposed contract shortcomings.
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Comments
Record profits lead to RECORD PROFIT SHARING CHECKS… This guy is a political shill who is solely trying to boost his personal image, “damage the Detroit automakers” (his own words) and permanently ship jobs out of USA. They may get their contract, but the plans will already be drawn up to move as much future product as possible out of UAW facilities… This guy is an political radical, nothing more, nothing less. “Billionaires, in my opinion, DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXIST!” – Shawn Fain
Bet the UAW workers don’t know that FAIN still gets his pay $484,000 yearly while they get chump change 500 a week , he needs to give his pay up , I say all Big 3 needs to be done with these unions, close the doors and reopen in a year under a different name , and never hire a driver again
Shawn Fain is the white male version of AOC.
Hopefully no one reads that as a compliment…
It’s more than just record breaking profits . Maybe sometime ask an auto worker how the big 3 made those profits . Funny how when the auto manufacturers needed concessions from the workers to stay profitable the unions and the members agreed . Now that the tables have turned the manufacturers play dumb, just saying . Big deal if the big three close the us will tail spin into an economic hole and just owe China more and more . People here should stay off the internet and take an economics courses on world economy.
They have been offered profit sharing, how is that not benefitting in profits.
Is it bad that at this point I hope they lose their jobs? This is getting out of hand. UNIFOR made a deal at Oshawa, WTF is the UAW’s problem?
Fain is greedy he doesn’t care he still gets his 484,000 Salary , did what’s next in 4 years same ole bologna half are useless workers anyways been there done that ,
How is this Mary’s fault? She is not the only making the decisions. Plus they are making record profits but the again the UAW doesn’t understand that doesn’t last forever. This guys fain doesn’t care because he is guranteed a pay check. He is a political hack and UAW should be ashamed.
Arlington was obvious, but, TBH, if they’re gonna strike, just strike and get on with it. That means ALL plants and not this headline-making daily nonsense.
The are using the “boil the frog” tactic. The UAW is trying to demonstrate their “power” to the automakers by showing them how much control they have over the automakers’ ability to generate profit. Keep turning up the heat until the automakers just hand them whatever they want to stop the bleeding.
It sounds like the automakers are trying to negotiate in good faith to give the UAW the best offers they can. The UAW, at this point, is simply pushing and pushing and pushing. Imagine being a UAW worker who has to go back to the assembly line after all of this. They may ultimately get a wage increase, but they are going to be absolutely slammed with overtime and aggressive production goals trying to make up for all of the lost production. So much for that work life balance you are fighting for.
Didn’t GM just include the battery plants as part of the contract in exchange for this exact thing NOT to happen? So are the battery plants out now?
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2023/10/gms-ultium-cells-battery-plants-to-be-included-in-national-uaw-labor-agreement/
rip hoe. 2024 is officially a washed up year now
F I N A L L Y .
Now we will all see who’s really incontrol of this negotiation. UAWs leadership will be an interesting case-study in law & business schools.
I think I’ll just order my Front License Plate bracket off of Amazon.
Dump the UAW
I hope the Ft. Wayne plant is next to walk out. Go UAW !!!!!
Safe bet. That in 2025 there will be less UAW jobs in Detroit than today. That trend will continue in years beyond.
Uaw workers……homeless and hungry thanks to Fain. Like sheep they will go over the edge with him. Oops. He won’t go over. He will live off the dues you paid him. Long live Toyota. Lol
I’ve said it before, I fully support the hard working folks down in the trenches. If they’re not being treated/compensated fairly, then that needs to change. However I do NOT support the “Sleazy, Dishonest, Corrupt” (Not my choice of words) UAW. I may be wrong but it seems the offers made so far pay these folks a LOT of money. FAR more than I ever made as a professional aircraft mechanic! And yet, Shawn Fain just wants more, more, more. Greed on all sides. Both my grandfathers worked in the same Chevrolet plant when I was a kid. We are a GM family. Every new car ever purchased has been GM, and yet I’m so discouraged by all of this, I’m almost ashamed to admit, I’m shopping for a foreign car. Something I once swore I’d NEVER do…
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if GM shelves the 2024 model year, for everything at Arlington. Hell, it may take the entire year to clear up this cluster! The only saving grace is they will be able to use most of the parts on hand, since most things won’t change for 2024. However, all we hear about is the new “refreshed” 2025’s. Absolutely, no advertising for 2024 since they’ve delayed the “refresh”, until at least 2025.
Fain is an idiot. Of course GM’s quarterly numbers went up! That isn’t a red flag notifying you to demand more! So much for his agreement to leave Arlington alone, due to GM agreeing to give them the battery plant employees!! Anyone who is in the market for a new vehicle will most likely try to find something close to what they want on a dealer’s lot now, somewhere in the country. This is due to having no idea what new vehicles will be available for 2024, or when/if they will actually be built!
This has to come to an equitable (for everyone) agreement quickly. Fain is single-handedly killing the US automotive market, for the big 3. He is driving customers away, aggravating people who need parts, as well as forcing the big 3 to most likely expand to other countries. Therefore, all of this fighting will be for nothing, when the big 3 close all of their US plants, and cause the UAW to cease to exist!
I was one of the customers waiting for a 2024 Yukon Denali. It looks like I’m going to have to buy foreign instead, which I’ve never done! Very sad indeed!!
“Put that in your morning coffee Mary Barra.”
It’s about time they walk out in Arlington.
I hope these prospective high-earning workers make cars up to the quality of their Asian competitors. These guys sometimes fix the Tahoe doors on Escalades and vice versa, and send to dealership for replacement.. More money actually makes them less responsible. GM management should ensure very strict quality measures for their products before leaving the factory…
Else Detroit will be crushed by the better goods from competitors.
UAW don’t end up murdering the US auto manufacturers.
Detroit and the UAW have had decades to raise quality levels to their foreign competitors. They have failed to do so as their loss of market share reflects. I expect that trend to continue as Detroit reports record profits and UAW workers get record wages and profit sharing. They will not be competitive with other US manufacturers.