Tristen Cortez EDINBURG – After commencing a strike on Sept. 15, the United Auto Workers expanded their efforts to walking out at assembly plants across the “Detroit Three” auto manufacturers – Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
Per the UAW, the organization made demands for higher wages and better job security in the months leading up to the expiration of their four-year long contracts with the Detroit Three.
The auto manufacturers failed to agree with the UAW on points of contention such as raising wages 40-percent to combat the rising cost-of-living, or shrinking the time it takes to rise to top pay in a position.
President Biden spoke on the matter in a White House briefing transcript:
“Over the last […] decade, auto companies have seen record profits, including the last few years, because of the extraordinary skill and sacrifices of the UAW workers. But those record profits have not been shared fairly, in my view, with those workers.”
Gautam Hazarika, chair of the UTRGV Economics Department, said that there is a growing disconnect between workers and management at many jobs in the U.S.
“The U.S has a culture of overpaying its CEOs,” Hazarika said. “Where that comes from, I’m not sure; don’t know what this hyper capitalism leads to that ratio. There are a lot of cultural factors at work here. But I’m sure if that ratio is reduced, it’s not [going to] cause a huge decline in efficiency or anything.”
The weight of worker tensions has been felt in the RGV, as car dealerships reckon with what the delays in car parts and vehicles will mean for their inventory as the year continues.
Billy Kelley, general manager at Fiesta Chevrolet and Bert Ogden Buick GMC, said that while the dealership has one of the largest inventories in Texas, they’re still being cautious for what’s in store.
“I think the longer the strike goes on, the more impact we’re going to feel from it,” Kelley said. “That’s why we’re calling all our companies saying, ‘come in now, shop now, take advantage of the lower prices’ because we don’t know what’s going to happen at the end of the year.”
As of now, the UAW have yet to resume renegotiations with the Detroit automakers.
