Strike Day #3: General Motors is losing up to $100M/day
- 30 US factories
- 46K workers
- 0 cars produced in 2 days
We haven't seen production that low since Tebow... General Motors' unionized workers are practicing their right to assembly with a nationwide strike. 14K vehicles could've been produced in its American plants Monday & Tuesday, but weren't — the United Auto Workers wants better pay, fewer factory closures, and more job protection first.
This goes back to the financial crisis... That's when GM went bankrupt. It was reborn thanks to a government bailout and workers agreeing to sacrifice pay and job guarantees for the greater good. 9 years later, GM issued a press release titled "GM Accelerates Transformation" in which it "unallocated" 5 plants.
- Translation: GM's laying off 14K American workers.
- Salt in the wound: GM also announced it'll produce its new Chevy Blazer in Mexico.
Companies don't love organized labor... Negotiating a pay raise is tough 1:1 with your manager. It's easier when you're represented 46K-strong in awesome union T's. But we rarely see labor strikes in America because of the long, steady decline of unions. Here's how much the percentage of US workers who are union members has fallen:
- 30% in the 1950s
- 20% in the 1980s
- 10% from the 2000s through today