UAW strike hits large GM SUV plant that union previously threatened to target
ARLINGTON, Texas (FOX 2) - Almost three weeks ago, General Motors narrowly avoided a strike against one of the automaker's most profitable plants in Texas. Tuesday, the UAW struck.
About 5,000 UAW members walked out of Arlington Assembly, where the Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade are built.
"We were about to shut down GM's biggest moneymaker in Arlington, Texas," UAW President Shawn Fain said during an update on Oct. 6. "We know their pain points, we know their moneymakers, and we know the plants they really don’t want to see struck."
However, a last-minute move by GM to add its electric vehicle battery manufacturing plants to the UAW national master agreement spared the automaker from having the plant struck.
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The UAW is threatening to add more members to the picket line on Friday as talks between the union and Detroit's Big Three continue.
The move to strike Arlington comes a day after GM shared its third-quarter sales numbers, which included an increase in sales across all the automaker's brands.
"Despite having made $10 billion in profits in the past nine months, breaking revenue records for another consecutive quarter, and beating Wall Street expectations, GM’s latest offer fails to reward UAW members for the profits they’ve generated," the union said in a statement.
The statement went on to say that "GM’s offer lags behind Ford." Last week, Fain said GM and Stellantis had been making progress in their negotiations while blasting Ford for a speech executive chair Bill Ford gave at the Rouge plant.
This week, the UAW targeted a large Stellantis plant and now the GM plant.
GM responded in a statement, calling the strike "unnecessary and irresponsible."
"Last week, we provided a comprehensive offer to the UAW that increased the already substantial and historic offers we have made by approximately 25% in total value," the automaker said.
What was in GM's most recent offer to the UAW?
Last week, General Motors' released its latest offer to the UAW, which included a 25% compounded wage increase over the course of the deal.
The offer came out following GM's earlier inclusion of its future battery plants in the UAW's national master agreement that staved off an escalation of strike targets. It also included offers on several components of negotiations, ranging from wages and COLA, to improvements for a faster path to top pay rates for temporary workers and an increase in retirement pensions.
The details of the offer for most employees include:
- 25% compounded wage increase. Workers can make up to $84,000 per year
- The reinstatement of COLA for seniority team members
- Ratification bonus for all employees
- $0 healthcare premiums and deductibles for seniority team members
- Five weeks of vacation, Juneteenth, and two weeks of paid parental leave
For temporary workers, the offer includes:
- Faster path to top pay
- Full-time temporary workers with one year of employment will be automatically converted to seniority at ratification.
- Wage increases by 26%
- Profit sharing for temporary workers who have worked at least 1,000 hours
Retirement security:
- Company contributions increased 8% of annual wages
- Company contributions for healthcare during retirement up to $1.25 per hour worked
- An increase in the Basic Benefit Rate by 5%