Thousands of workers at General Motors Co.โs Arlington assembly factory walked off the job Tuesday joining fellow automotive workers in a nationwide strike.
The 5,000 workers left their post at the GM factory in North Texas, which employs more people than any other factory in the U.S., shortly after the company announced its third-quarter earnings to shareholders.
The factory produces SUVs for Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac, which GM noted as particularly profitable in itsย third-quarter letterย to shareholders.
The automaker reported a 7% drop in profits compared to last year but a 5% increase in revenue. A statement from the UAW said GMโs latest offer to the union โfails to reward UAW members for the profits theyโve generatedโ in comparison to the companyโs revenue increase.
“Another record quarter, another record year,โ UAW president Shawn Fain said in the statement. โAs we’ve said for months: record profits equal record contracts.โ
In its own statement, the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations expressed solidarity with the striking workers, stating that autoworkersโ sacrifices needed to be โfully recognizedโ by companies.
โStrikes like this are hard,โ Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy said. โThey involve risk. They involve sacrifice. But when UAW workers in Arlington, Carrollton and Roanoke walked off the job, they did so to benefit every worker in this country.โ
GM, in a Tuesday statement, said it is disappointed with the escalation of the strike โ which now includes more than 45,000 workers in 21 states โ and encouraged workers to accept the current deal proposed by the company.
โIt is harming our team members who are sacrificing their livelihoods and having negative ripple effects on our dealers, suppliers and the communities that rely on us,โ the company said.
GM presented aย revised offerย to UAW on Oct. 20, which included a 23% gradual increase in wages over a 4.5-year period. GM called the offer the โmost significant proposalโ GM has ever created for its workers, but the UAW said the offer โlags behindโ offers from other companies like Ford, specifically in regard to GMโs 401(k) proposal.
The strikes across the country, including both the 5,000 in Arlington and another 6,800 workers in Michigan who also joined the picket line Monday, have received national attention amid growing support for unions. President Joe Biden expressed support for the UAW in September when he joined a picket line in Michigan, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president supports the UAWโs move in Arlington.
โThe President continues to believe that collective bargaining is incredibly important,โ Jean-Pierre said.
Sixty-seven percent of Americans support labor unions according to a recentย Gallup poll, and aย survey from Morning Consultย found over 56% of people support the ongoing UAW strike as well.
This article was byย ย AYDEN RUNNELSย ย of The Texas Tribune.