More than 5,000 GM Arlington workers walk out in UAW strike. Plant makes popular SUVs
More than 5,000 workers at General Motors Arlington Assembly walked off the job Tuesday morning after the United Auto Workers union called for the plant to join its strike.
The UAW strike began on September 15 against the Big Three automakers — GM, Ford and Stellantis.
GM makes many of its best-selling vehicles in Arlington, including Chevy Tahoes and Suburbans, GMC Yukons and Cadillac Escalades.
This is a significant moment in the UAW strike, because the Arlington assembly is one of GM’s largest and most profitable plants. Some experts even say GM Arlington is the most profitable auto plant in the world.
A Missouri GM assembly plant, Michigan Ford assembly plant and Ohio Stellantis assembly plant were the first strike targets after UAW’s contract expired in September. Nearly 13,000 UAW workers walked off the job during that first week. Just one day before GM Arlington workers walked out, 6,800 workers left a Stellantis plant near Detroit.
Including Arlington, now more than 45,000 UAW workers are on strike across the country.
“If we stand together, if we have faith, we will win. Not just a good contract. Not just a record contract. But a contract that turns the tide,” UAW President Shawn Fain said on the social media site X Tuesday morning.
Contract talks between UAW and the “Big Three” manufacturers over the past few months have revolved around cost-of-living adjustments and inflation, the role and use of temporary manufacturing workers, the industry’s shift from pensions to 401(k) retirement plans and a tiered wage system. The union demanded a 40% pay increase as of early August.
The strike came just a few hours after GM held its third-quarter earnings call and reported about $3 billion in profits — a 7% decrease compared to the same time last year.
“Another record quarter, another record year. As we’ve said for months: record profits equal record contracts,” Fain said in a release. “It’s time GM workers, and the whole working class, get their fair share.”
GM Arlington Assembly verified to the Star-Telegram that workers left the plant as of 9 a.m. In a statement issued Tuesday morning, the company said it was “disappointed by the escalation of this unnecessary and irresponsible strike.”
“It is harming our team members who are sacrificing their livelihoods and having negative ripple effects on our dealers, suppliers, and the communities that rely on us,” the company said in a release. “Last week, we provided a comprehensive offer to the UAW that increased the already substantial and historic offers we have made by approximately 25% in total value. It is time for us to finish this process, get our team members back to work and get on with the business of making GM the company that will win and provide great jobs in the U.S. for our people for decades to come.”
This is the first time UAW has targeted all of the Big Three manufacturers in one strike. Previously, UAW would target one company and call for a strike at all of the company’s plants.
This most recently happened to GM when workers went on strike for 42 days in 2019. Economists say the strike led to a $4.2 billion economic loss and sent the state of Michigan — where GM is based — into a one-quarter recession.
The North Texas GM facility has significantly contributed to Arlington’s economy since the plant opened in the 1950s. GM announced a $500 million investment in June for the plant to maintain existing jobs as it gears up for the next cycle of SUV production.
More than 34,000 vehicles rolled out of GM Arlington in March, setting a record for the number of cars ever produced in one month across the plant’s 70-year history in North Texas.
GM Arlington is the third largest employer in Tarrant County as of 2023. It is also the top industrial taxpayer in the county as of 2022.
This story was originally published October 24, 2023 at 10:25 AM.
