September 17th 2023.
In a major development, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has declared a strike after talks with the Big Three automakers - General Motors, Ford Motors and Stellantis - failed to reach an agreement on improved wages and benefits, according to NBC News.
At midnight on August 15, union members walked off the job from three major plants - a General Motors site in Missouri, a Stellantis location in Ohio and a Ford site in Michigan.
The strike has been in the works for a long time, as alleged bad labor conditions have been an issue between the Big Three and union workers for years. Experts fear that with the UAW on strike, the Midwest could be heading towards an economic downturn.
It is estimated that the strike will lead to a shortage of vehicles, forcing consumers to turn to non-union businesses for their car purchases, potentially resulting in a spike in prices. This is especially unfortunate for the automakers, considering they already faced a major financial setback due to the global computer chip shortage during the peak of the pandemic.
The developments have also put Republican politicians in a difficult position. While some express support for fairer wages, others suggest that the Biden administration allowed the strike to take place in largely Republican states in the Midwest as a political move. Senator JD Vance from Ohio raised questions about the timing and location of the strikes, questioning the intentions of the Biden administration.
Union President Shawn Fain expressed his frustrations during a rally in downtown Detroit on August 16, pointing to the large profits made by the automakers in the past decade while employee wages have either stayed the same or decreased.
“Can you hear us now?” he shouted to the crowd of supporters.
Fain went on to share a spreadsheet that showed that while workers’ pay had not increased, the Big Three had made $20 billion in profit in just the past six months and a total of $250 billion in the past decade.
“Our workers have gone backwards,” Fain said. “All three of the Big Three have price-gauged American consumers, they’ve ripped off the American taxpayer and all three have nickel-and-dimed the American worker.”
The strike of the UAW is a significant event that has brought much attention to the labor conditions of the Big Three automakers. With the potential for an economic downturn in the Midwest, Republican politicians are feeling the pressure to do something about the situation. Union President Shawn Fain’s rally has brought to light the stark disparity between worker pay and the billions in profits the major automakers have made in the past decade, emphasizing the need for workers to be fairly compensated.
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