Layoffs blamed on UAW labour action
Small strike actions taken as contract talks continue
Talks between the United Auto Workers union and the automakers their members work for are going slowly. And that’s resulted in the announcement of hundreds of temporary layoffs from Ford and General Motors.
The UAW and the Big Three automakers went on over the weekend, following a walkout of around 13,000 workers at three plants last Friday. The plants affected produced vehicles including the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, and Chevrolet Colorado.
Ford (via NPR) has laid off 600 workers at one of its Michigan assembly plants, because the job those workers completed relied on striking workers. GM said that the strike at its Wentzville, MO plant was affecting its Fairfax, KS plant, as well. The company said that this was expected to put 2,000 workers off the job early this week.
“This is due to a shortage of critical stampings supplied by Wentzville’s stamping operations to Fairfax,” General Motors said in a statement. “We are working under an expired agreement at Fairfax. Unfortunately, there are no provisions that allow for company-provided SUB-pay in this circumstance.”
UAW President Shawn Fain said that the union would ensure that affected workers would receive some income, and criticized the automakers for the move.
“Let’s be clear: if the Big Three decide to lay people off who aren’t on strike, that’s them trying to put the squeeze on our members to settle for less,” Fain said in a statement.
“With their record profits, they don’t have to lay off a single employee. In fact, they could double every autoworker’s pay, not raise car prices, and still rake in billions of dollars,” he added.
There was no word of matching layoffs from Stellantis, the third of the Big Three.
