MEMPHIS, Tenn — The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike has continued across the country now for nearly a month after thousands of Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis employees walked off the job.
There are now more than 25,000 members across the country who are on strike.
Members at AC Delco Distribution Center said whether rain, sleet, shine, or snow, they are going to be there every single day and night until General Motors gives them what they have been asking for.
AC Delco Distribution Center makes and ships out thousands of car and truck parts for General Motors. Members there joined the strike just one week after union workers across the country started their own strike.
“We are the foundation of the billion-dollar companies," shift manager Doretha Sharp explained. "There’s no reason why we should be out here. There’s no reason why we should negotiate our well-being.”
The union is demanding a 40% pay raise over the next several years. So far, the big three automakers have offered about half of that. The UAW has also demanded a four-day work week.
General Motors Shop Chairman Sherman Ward said this strike does not just impact workers, it has also started to hurt the economy.
“The prices are steadily going up," Ward said. "Our pay is steadily going down. With the prices going up, people have to get second and third jobs just to make ends meet. That draws down on the economy itself.”
Dr. John Gnuschke, a retired University of Memphis economist, said the strike also has a negative impact on the supply chain and customers.
“The end result is that car prices will rise to offset the cost of the negotiations that are taking place right today,” Gnuschke said.
He said if this strike continues, the effects are going to get more serious.
“The longer it lasts, the more serious it becomes for the families that are impacted all over the nation," Gnuschke said. "It’s not just in Memphis, but it’s everywhere, and so the suppliers that are also on strike, their solutions are totally dependent upon the United Autoworkers.”
Gnuschke said he believes the negotiations will go through and there will be a resolution. People just do not know how long it will take.