Economic impacts of UAW strike impact Michigan

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:36 PM PT — Thursday, September 26, 2019
The birthplace of General Motors is seeing the rebirth of a strike. Some veteran employees are now reliving the 1998 strike when auto workers took to the picket lines for 54 days, which forced a company wide shut down.Employees are fighting for raises and a larger share of company profits, so they can afford to buy the vehicles they build. With 15 GM manufacturing facilities statewide, more than any other state, analysts say residents are bracing for the economic impacts of the strike:“Everyone is weaker now compared to 1998; the company, the City, and even the statewide economy,” explained Chris Douglas, a professor at Michigan State University.The state relies on the auto sector for seven-percent of wage and salary income. That’s compared to less than two-percent nationwide. The company has about 49,000 salaried and hourly workers in Michigan with more than 17,000 represented by the union.Employees not working due to the strike saw a total loss of about $9.3 million per day in lost wages by the end of last week.“And that’s why it’s important that the people in this plant help out the City. It’s important to keep a City like this, keep the plants open.” — Joe Duplanty Jr. – striking GM employeeFILE – In this Sept. 23, 2019, file photo a sign is posted during a demonstration outside a General Motors facility in Langhorne, Pa. General Motors now says striking workers will get company-paid health insurance, nine days after saying coverage would be cut off. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)The strike has also reached the political arena. Some GM workers criticized 2020 candidates for expecting an endorsement from United Auto Workers without showing enough support during their time of need. Amy Klobuchar was the first to meet with GM employees, followed by Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden.There is light at the end of the tunnel. The United Auto Workers union and GM are reportedly closing in on a tentative agreement, which could end the ongoing strike.