Sept. 21 (UPI) — General Motors (GM) and Stellantis, two major automakers, are facing significant workforce challenges in the wake of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike. GM has been forced to lay off approximately 2,000 workers at its Kansas assembly plant due to a parts shortage resulting from the strike. Additionally, Stellantis has laid off roughly 370 workers across three parts factories that supply its Toledo Jeep plant.
Concerns are mounting within the UAW, with UAW President Shawn Fain setting a deadline for Friday to expand the strike to more plants unless substantial progress is made towards a new contract.
“I have been clear with the Big 3 every step of the way. And I’m going to be crystal clear again right now,” Fain said. “If we don’t make serious progress by noon on Friday, Sept. 22, more locals will be called on to Stand Up and join the strike.”
This ongoing strike has already had negative repercussions. GM has announced the unfortunate idling of its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas due to a shortage of critical stampings supplied by Wentzville’s stamping operations. This has resulted in most of its represented team members leaving the plant as there is no work available. Furthermore, since the UAW contract was not extended when the strike was called, the idled workers are not eligible for supplemental unemployment benefits they would have received under the contract.
Stellantis has also been impacted by the UAW strike, temporarily laying off a potential of more than 350 workers. More specifically, the Toledo Machining Plant in Perrysburg, Ohio, has temporarily laid off 68 employees due to storage constraints. Similar actions are anticipated at Kokomo Transmission and Kokomo Casting in Kokomo, Indiana, affecting an estimated 300 employees at these two facilities.
The strike involves nearly 13,000 UAW workers across GM, Ford, and Stellantis plants. The UAW is pushing for a new labor contract that includes a roughly 40% pay hike over four years, restoration of an automatic cost-of-living adjustment tied to inflation, an end to the two-tier pay system, restoration of traditional pensions, and a shorter work week without a pay cut. The union argues that during the financial crisis of 2008-09, they made significant concessions, and now that the automakers are enjoying record profits, it’s time to share the prosperity with the workers.
Interestingly, the auto companies claim that despite their record profits and highly-paid CEOs, they cannot afford to meet the UAW’s demands. This disagreement between the UAW and the automakers has created a tense situation that is affecting not only the companies but also their employees and the automotive industry as a whole.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
