US historic strike at 3 Detroit car makers could change future of car making in America
- Workers picketed for the first time in 88 years, creating fear of a shortage of vehicles and a rise in prices, impacting a US economy already under strain
- ‘They could double our raises … and still make millions of dollars in profits. We’re not the problem. Corporate greed is the problem,’ union boss says
About 13,000 US car workers stopped making vehicles and went on strike Friday after their leaders could not bridge a giant gap between union demands in contract talks and what Detroit’s three carmakers are willing to pay.
Members of the United Auto Workers union began picketing at a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.
It was the first time in the union’s 88-year history that it walked out on all three companies simultaneously as four-year contracts expired at 11.59pm on Thursday.
The strikes are likely to affect the future of the union and of America’s home-grown car industry at a time when US labour is flexing its might and the companies face a historic transition from building internal combustion engines to making electric vehicles.
08:49
Netflix’s not-so-secret plan to survive the Hollywood writers strike
If they last a long time, dealers could run short of vehicles and prices could rise, impacting a US economy already under strain from elevated inflation.