Shortly after announcing a tentative agreement with the second of the Detroit Three automakers, the United Auto Workers expanded its strike against the third company, demanding workers leave General Motors Co.’s Spring Hill assembly plant in Tennessee, UAW Local said 1853 with Saturday evening on Facebook.
The strike call was confirmed by GM and a source familiar with the union’s plans. The plant is GM’s largest manufacturing facility in North America. It produces the Cadillac XT5, XT6 and the all-electric Lyriq as well as the GMC Acadia. The company employs nearly 4,000 hourly and contract workers, according to the company.
“We are disappointed by the UAW’s action given the progress we have made,” said a GM statement shared by spokesman David Barnas. “We have continued to negotiate in good faith with the UAW and our goal remains to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”
The strike came as negotiations with GM continued Saturday after two consecutive rounds of overnight negotiations at the Detroit automaker. UAW President Shawn Fain said Saturday evening that the union had reached a tentative agreement with Stellantis NV that was in line with the economic aspects of an agreement at Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday.
That leaves GM as the only automaker in the Detroit Three without a tentative UAW agreement. Saturday was the 44th day of the strike – the same number of days as the sit-down strike against GM in Flint that led to the automaker’s union recognition in 1937. “Up” strike against the Detroit Three got its name.
The Spring Hill strike was characteristic of Fain’s response to talks that have been ongoing since mid-July, said Marick Masters, a management professor at Wayne State University.
“He will increase the pressure until he gets a deal with them,” he said. “It shows the unconventionality of his approach. He does not hesitate to use the influence he has at any time. If GM hesitated in any way and did not want to follow the pattern, there was no way the UAW would accept it.”
The move is also evidence of the union’s calculated strategy with the strike, Masters said. It could have destroyed the full-size pickup truck plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, or the heavy-duty truck plant in Flint.
However, Spring Hill’s propulsion manufacturing operations supply several plants that are not on strike or subject to layoffs, including Fort Wayne, Lansing Grand River Assembly, Bowling Green Assembly in Kentucky, and the Ramos and Silao plants in Mexico.
“He has been very careful to tailor the impact of the strike at the times he wants based on how much he wants to advance the talks,” Masters said. “He must have decided that would be enough.”
But he also has more ammunition if not, said the professor.
“He’s in the driver’s seat,” Masters said. “He won’t let go of the steering wheel. He’ll put his foot down and see how far he has to go.”
Nearly 15,000 GM auto workers were already on strike and remained on picket lines after the union told Stellantis workers they could go home after reaching a tentative agreement.
In addition to the Tennessee plant, workers are also on strike at GM’s Wentzville midsize pickup and midsize truck plant outside St. Louis, Missouri, the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave plant in Delta Township outside Lansing, and the midsize SUV plant in Arlington , Texas. Workers at GM parts distribution centers across the country are also on strike.
GM said Tuesday, before workers at the Arlington assembly plant walked off the job, that the strike had cost the company $800 million.
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