U.A.W.’s Expanding Strikes Could Signal an Endgame or a Long Struggle

The Arlington strike was part of a union strategy to target the most profitable cars of the automaker. The Texas plant produces large sport utility vehicle models such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade.

There were signs, before the expansion on Tuesday, that the unions and G.M. Before the Tuesday expansion, there had been signs that both G.M. Analysts said that the union’s decision to raise the stakes is part of a strategy to squeeze every last dollar out of the company.

The U.A.W. Shawn Fain’s president “has said he had some levers to drag to push the company, and now he is pulling them,” Arthur Wheaton, director of Labor Studies at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said. “I think this is the last push by the union to the companies saying, Let’s get this done.”

It is possible that the U.A.W. and the union have not yet reached an agreement. The U.A.W. is showing that it has many cards left to play.

“My gut instinct is that they are not close, and this is an attempt to impose additional costs and say, “Look, you guys need to get closer to our wants, or we will keep doing this,” said Patricia Anderson.

The union went on strike at a Ram truck factory, the biggest U.S. plant operated by Stellantis, which also owns Jeep, Chrysler, and Jeep. The U.A.W. The U.A.W. has also hit Ford Motor Company’s largest factory in Louisville, Ky., which produces large pickup trucks as well as the Lincoln Navigator S.U.V.

In a press release, Mr. Fain stated: “Another record-breaking quarter and another record-breaking year. As we have been saying for months now: record profits equal contract records.” It’s time, G.M. “It’s time workers and the entire working class get their fair share.”

G.M. The executives said on Tuesday they hoped that a tentative agreement would be reached with the union in a short time. The Texas walkout dimmed these hopes.

The longer a strike continues, the more likely it is that it will drag down the U.S. economic system or make it difficult for consumers to get the cars they want.

The automakers are keen to highlight the ripple effect that strikes have on other workers. Stellantis, the maker of Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge, announced on Tuesday it had laid off 525 employees at two Michigan factories in Sterling and Warren that produce parts for Ram pickups that aren’t needed because the assembly line has been shut down due to the strike.

Stellantis has laid off temporarily more than 2,000 employees due to the strikes. Ford, according to its company, has cut more than 3,000 employees because of the strikes. G.M. G.M. G.M. has also laid off 3,000 more workers. The company reports that suppliers will be temporarily unemployed due to the strike.

G.M. In a press release, G.M. “It harms our team members, who sacrifice their livelihoods. It has negative ripple effects on dealers, suppliers and communities that depend on us.”

G.M., America’s largest automaker, announced on Tuesday that the strike contributed to a 7-percent decline in profits from the previous year. The company reported that it earned $3.1 billion between July and September. The strike, which has affected three of the company’s vehicle factories and 18 warehouses for spare parts as well as the Texas plant, has caused the shutdown of all.

Before the U.A.W. Before the U.A.W. G.M. said on Tuesday that the work stoppages have reduced its earnings before interest, taxes, and other expenses by approximately $200 million during the last weeks of the third quarter and by around $600 million from the beginning of the fourth quarter in October. The automaker said that the strike would cost $200 million per week. However, this number is likely to increase now that the workers in the Texas plant have gone on strike.

Mary T. Barra said in an investor letter that “they’ve demanded record contracts — and we’ve been offering them for weeks: a contract with historic wage increases, record job safety, and world-class healthcare.” It’s a deal that rewards team members but doesn’t put our company or their jobs in danger.

G.M. G.M. The top rate for employees working 40 hours per week would be $84,000, excluding overtime pay and profit-sharing bonuses. These have exceeded $10,000 in the last two years.

Ford and Stellantis made similar offers.

The union initially requested raises of 40%, saying that modest increases would not be enough to compensate for the erosion of living standards suffered by its members due to inflation and concessions made in previous contracts.

Mr. Fain’s approach to negotiation is more aggressive than that of his predecessors. He has described talks with G.M. Ford and Stellantis as the first steps in a broad attempt to organize workers from Tesla, Toyota Hon, da, and other companies that do not have unions in their U.S. plants.

In a Friday video, Mr. Fain stated that G.M. Ford and Stellantis have not yet made their best offer. He said that despite the loud claims about how far the companies had stretched, there was still plenty of room for negotiation.

Ms. Anderson pointed out that Mr. Fain had just been elected in March and that he might have made a mistake. “The U.A.W. “The U.A.W. “He could be holding out for a settlement that is unrealistic and costly for both parties.”

The U.A.W. sends a message to its members by striking the largest and most profitable automaker plants. M. Wheaton, Cornell’s president, said that the leaders had done all they could to secure the best possible deal.

He said, “This shows members that we removed their biggest moneymakers and pushed them as hard as we could.” Then, if a tentative agreement is reached, they can say to the members, “You better ratify it.” “Don’t vote it down.

Nearly 4,000 U.A.W. Members of the U.A.W. The company is a Volvo Trucks subsidiary. They went on strike after negotiating with them. Now, union officials are trying to negotiate better terms with the company.

A calendar is also a consideration. Mr. Fain, the union negotiators, and workers should be cautious about asking them to work through the winter months and holiday season on only $500 per week as strike pay.