Striking United Auto Workers members picket at the General Motors Lansing Parts and Warehouse for the fifth week of the strike on October 16, 2019 in Lansing, Michigan.Bill Pugliano / Getty Striking General Motors factory workers will put down their picket signs after approving a new contract that will end a 40-day strike that paralyzed the company’s U.S. production. The United Auto Workers union said in a statement Friday that workers had approved the new four-year deal. But no vote totals were given. The union shortly after announced it plans to next negotiate with Ford, and then Fiat Chrysler. Picket lines were to come down immediately, and skilled trades workers will begin restarting factories that were shuttered when 49,000 workers walked out on September 16. Some production workers could return as early as Friday night. The deal includes a mix of wage increases and lump-sum payments and an US$11,000 signing bonus. But GM will close three U.S. factories that make slow-selling cars and transmissions. Analysts estimate the strike cost GM more than US$2 billion. Trades workers such as machinists and electricians likely will enter the plants quickly, restarting boilers and preparing paint shops, robots and other equipment to restart production. Although GM dealers had stocked up on vehicles before the strike and many still have decent supplies, analysts say GM won’t be able to make up for the lost production. Had the strike been shorter, GM could have increased assembly line speeds and worked the plants on overtime to catch up and refill its stock. But many of the plants that make popular SUVs and pickup trucks already were working around the clock to keep up with demand before the strike began. Also, companies that supply parts to the factories and halted production during the strike will need time to restart, although GM has some parts in stock. Jeff Schuster, senior vice-president of the consulting firm LMC Automotive, estimates that GM has lost production of 300,000 vehicles, and he said maybe only a quarter of it can be made up. “You can’t add days to the week and you can’t add hours to the day,” he said. Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) who are employed at the General Motors Co. Flint Assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, slow down salary employees entering the plant as they strike early on September 16, 2019. Jeff Kowalsky / AFP via Getty Some production losses will help thin inventory, especially of cars, Schuster said. But in late October and early November, GM will likely run short of colours and models of trucks and SUVs that are in high demand until stocks are replenished, he said. Although truck and SUV buyers generally are loyal to a brand, customers in a hurry for a new vehicle could go elsewhere, Schuster said. “There are definitely going to be some limitations on choice, and that is a risk,” Schuster said. “Consumers can opt to wait, or they can go down the street to their competitor.” Now the union will move on to bargain with Ford, using the GM deal as a template. It’s not clear yet if there will be another strike, but Ford will not be happy about being stuck with the GM terms.
Origin: GM union ends 40-day strike with ratification of new deal