In another major expansion of its six-week long strikes at the three large U.S. automakers, the United Automobile Workers union on Tuesday told 5,000 workers at General Motors’ largest U.S. plant, in Arlington, Texas, to stop working.
The union expanded the strike on the same day that G.M. announced a 7 percent drop in its third-quarter profit and said U.A.W. work stoppages had cost it $800 million so far. On Monday, the union also struck at a Ram pickup truck plant, the largest U.S. factory operated by Stellantis. The U.A.W. has also struck Ford Motor’s largest plant, in Louisville, Ky.
“Another record quarter, another record year. As we’ve said for months: record profits equal record contracts,” the U.A.W. president, Shawn Fain, said in a statement. “It’s time G.M. workers, and the whole working class, get their fair share.”
G.M. executives said earlier on Tuesday that they hoped to reach a tentative agreement with the union soon.
“They’ve demanded a record contract — and that’s exactly what we’ve offered for weeks now: a historic contract with record wage increases, record job security and world-class health care,” the company’s chief executive, Mary T. Barra, said in a letter to investors. “It’s an offer that rewards our team members but does not put our company and their jobs at risk.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
