United Auto Workers Strike Against General Motors for Fair Treatment, 2019

The Great Recession of 2008 adversely affected the U.S. economy, causing struggles across multiple industries and leading to the bankruptcy of major enterprises. Due to declining automobile sales and the scarce availability of credit, one of the "Big Three" automotive manufacturers, General Motors (GM), went bankrupt. The prominent labor union, "The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)," and its members agreed with GM to cut employees' salaries and benefits by half and to hire temporary workers with lower pay and fewer benefits, purposefully saving GM and securing jobs for automobile workers. As the U.S. economy recovered, GM earned substantial profits, generating $35 billion in North America between 2016 and 2019.  However, automobile workers continued to endure relatively low wages.  According to Vox, GM CEO Mary Barra’s salary was estimated to be 281 times that of the median GM worker.

In November 2018, GM announced plans to close five factories in the U.S. and Canada, a move projected to result in 14,000 job losses over two years. The company’s leadership justified its decision by citing declining automobile sales and increased raw material costs due to higher tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. However, the announcement raised questions, as GM had also benefited significantly from corporate tax cuts introduced by the same administration. On 27 November, 2018, President Trump criticized GM’s decision in a tweet, stating, “Very disappointed with General Motors and their CEO, Mary Barra, for closing plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland…The U.S. saved General Motors…We are now looking at cutting all @GM subsidies…”

In July 2019, the UAW began negotiating a new contract with GM representatives to address issues such as worker pay, benefits, profit sharing, job security, and GM’s plans to close certain plants. The UAW also argued that GM’s recent profits had come at the expense of automobile workers’ well-being over the years. However, by 14 September 2019, the expiration date of the previous contract, the two parties had not reached an agreement and tensions had escalated. On the same day, UAW Vice President Terry Dittes stated that a worker strike to pressure GM to reach an agreement was “[The UAW’s] last resort”. 

Nevertheless, the strike began on 15 September, 2019, right after the expiration day of the previous contract. The workers shut down 33 manufacturing plants in nine states and 22 parts distribution warehouses. The UAW asked approximately 49,000 workers to participate in the strike, during which they walked off from the workplace and formed picket lines to demand their rights around different plants. A news outlet called The Hill estimated that the strike could cost GM up to $90 million a day. The UAW guaranteed that union members who joined the picket line would receive a $250 payment per week.

In response to the strike announced by the UAW, GM released an official statement on the same day the strike began, claiming it had created over $7 billion in investments and more than 5,400 jobs, while offering best-in-class wages and benefits to its employees. On 17 September, 2019, GM stopped paying health insurance for the union workers, but this action quickly backfired, as Jason Kaplan, a spokesperson for the UAW, countered that GM was leveraging the healthcare of thousands of workers to force the union to concede to unfair treatment.

The strike received overwhelming support from the public as well as from prominent political figures. The labor union International Brotherhood of Teamsters refused to transport GM vehicles to stand in solidarity with the UAW on the night the strike began. In addition, many Democratic presidential candidates joined the picket lines to support the UAW. On 21 September, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren walked alongside GM workers at an assembly plant in Detroit. Former Vice President Joe Biden joined a picket line at another assembly plant in Kansas City. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders visited the picket line in Detroit on 23 September. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar visited another picket line in Detroit on 24 September. Ohio Representative Tim Ryan traveled to several picket lines in his home state.

On 26 September, 2019, GM reversed its decision and repaid the workers’ health insurance. The strike by the workers and negotiations between the two parties continued until they reached a new 4-year labor contract on 16 October, 2019. The contract can be summarized as follows:

1. GM will offer an $11,000 bonus to UAW-represented GM workers and $4,500 to temporary workers after the ratification of the deal.

2. The time for “in-progression workers” to reach top pay will be shortened.

3. Temporary workers will have increased opportunities to become permanent autoworkers and will have their health insurance costs guaranteed.

4. GM will invest $7.7 billion in U.S. facilities to create or retain 9,000 jobs.

5.The UAW will have the authority to monitor GM regarding the number of temporary workers, working hours, and overtime.

As a concession, the UAW also agreed with GM to close three factories: the Lordstown Assembly plant, the Baltimore Transmission plant, and the Warren Transmission plant.

The UAW workers’ strike against General Motors was the first since their two-day walkout in 2007 and the longest strike since 1998, demonstrating the union's and workers’ solidarity and mobilization power. Overall, GM met the demands of the UAW, which included wage raises, guaranteed bonuses, transitions from temporary to permanent jobs, and increased investment in U.S. industries to create more jobs.