The UAW is expanding its strike against the Big Three Detroit automakers.
On Monday, the union sent 6,800 members to the picket line at Stellantis’ Sterling Heights (Mich.) Assembly Plant.
Then, on Tuesday, multiple media outlets reported the UAW ordered some 5,000 members at one of General Motors’ most profitable plants, the Arlington (Texas) Assembly Plant, into the strike.
GM builds its the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon big SUVs, some of its most profitable vehicles, at Arlington.
The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant is Stellantis’ largest plant and biggest moneymaker, producing the company’s best-selling vehicle, the RAM 1500 truck.
The workers who make Stellantis’ best-selling RAM 1500 trucks are joining the unprecedented Stand Up Strike at all three of the Big Three automakers. The move comes just days after UAW President Shawn Fain detailed the current proposals across the automakers, highlighting the shortcomings of Stellantis’ current offer.
In a story posted to the UAW website, the union said Stellantis has “the highest revenue, the highest profits (North American and global), the highest profit margins, and the most cash in reserve,” yet “lags behind both Ford and General Motors in addressing the demands of their UAW workforce.
The move comes on the day that GM reported its third quarter earnings had taken it hit in part due to the strike. GM said the strike so far has cost the company some $600 million in earnings. GM said it expects the strike to cost the automaker some $200 million per week, the Detroit Free Press reported.
UAW President Shawn Fain didn’t appear to be buying it. “Another record quarter, another record year,” Fain said in a statement. “As we’ve said for months: record profits equal record contracts. It’s time GM workers, and the whole working class, get their fair share.”
