Upcoming UAW Strike

UAW votes to authorize Ford, GM, Stellantis strike after contract expires | Fox Business

September 14 is the date and is going to be a huge deal. It’s already affecting us in the parts transport side of things and looks to be affecting outbound unit transport, as well. We just got through the model-year shutdown. Things never really ramped back up. Now, tier 1 loads are being cancelled all over. Plants are dragging feet on unloading trailers, which means we don’t have outbound dunnage or trailers to pull out of there. Many of us are having to lay over in hopes of something being emptied, during the night. When I bobtailed out, last night, I noticed one of the employee lots only had 6 cars parked in it and the outbound lots might have been at 50%, with not a single transporter in sight. I suspect, most of us parts runners will start being parked, next week, as the strike nears. I’m guessing, transporters will be getting parked, as well.

What’s even more troubling for me, is I asked two key management people about their plans, at my employer, and neither knew anything about the situation. They truly have zero interest in trucking or their jobs and simply show up to their desks. That tells me there is no alternate plan, at my employer. I’m thinking, I might be making a job change sooner than I’d planned. I feel like they’ll try and find each driver a broker load or two, per week, to avoid us receiving unemployment benefits. Not sure, yet. But, for sure, they won’t be able to keep nearly an entire company working, as auto part transport is probably 95% of what we do.

This is going to cripple all the service industries surrounding the auto industries as well as the communities these service industries reside in. For instance, we pick up engine covers, at a sizable plant, in a town of about 3900. That place supports an economy, there. I hate it for everyone.

 

The end of a labor contract isn’t a manufactured crisis.

From what I was told, UAW workers took concessions on the last contract, while the industry is sitting at $21B in profits, so far this year. The workers want the past concessions, increases for current conditions, elimination of tiers, among other things.

However, I do agree with artificially inflated prices, though. That’s been going on, with execs even admitting it.

I don’t believe repossessions will have any affect on new vehicle prices. They’ll keep used vehicle prices jacked up, because there’s far more margin in used vehicles than new. It’s a cash cow, for them.