Just before midnight Sunday, over 1,000 autoworkers marched out of GM’s Flint Assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, in what is the first national strike by the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union in over a decade and what could be extremely costly to the company — and the employees — if it’s not resolved quickly.
“An estimated 1,200 Flint Assembly workers streamed out of the plant along Van Slyke Avenue in their cars at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, marking the beginning of the UAW’s first national strike since 2007,” the Detroit Free Press reports. “The autoworkers, cheered by a large crowd of labor supporters, turned toward the UAW Local 598 union hall down the street to pick up picket signs. They lined street that snakes around the plant that builds the popular Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.”
The Detroit Free Press’s Phoebe Wall Howard posted a series of tweets featuring video of the big strike along with updates on the protest.
“GM strike is official as UAW autoworkers cur shift early and take position at 11:59a. at Flint Assembly,” she wrote (formatting adjusted). “GM workers jam Van Slyke outside the Flint Assembly Plant as UAW members cut short a shift at 11:59a to strike the site that makes Chevrolet Silverado… Strike crowd growing by the minute as GM workers emerge from Flint Assembly Plant … Police arrive at Flint Assembly as UAW GM crowd pours into Van Slyke 28 mins into contract strike launch … Flint Councilman Eric Mays arrives at Flint Assembly for GM strike at 1a Monday. The retired UAW member worked in trim at the plant. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver was on site too.”
The Free Press notes that the strike could cost GM around $400 million a day. The automaker will be able to weather a strike for a brief period by relying on existing inventory, but the situation could get highly problematic very quickly.
Workers will also suffer if the strike goes on for long. Citing the Center for Automotive Research’s Kristin Dziczek, the outlet notes that despite recently increasing its strike wages fund to $850 million, UAW can only pay members $250 a week in strike wages.
The strike began after the union let its contract with GM expire midnight Saturday. Negotiations were set to begin at 10 a.m. Monday.
The strike comes at a precarious time for the union, which has been hit with a federal investigation into both its current and former presidents, Gary Jones and Dennis Williams.
In her follow-up report on the strike, Howard makes clear that the UAW members are deeply worried about the potential fallout of the strike.
“My concern is not just for myself, but for the many other families that are affected by this strike,” UAW member Ralph Burchart, who’s been with the company for 30 years, told Howard. “Our kids are grown and married, but I have co-workers with younger children who would have a much harder time of it if this is an extended strike. My hope and prayer is that a reasonable contract that benefits both parties would be agreed upon sooner rather than later.”