What does the GM strike mean of the auto industry?

The UAW GM strike rolls on. They haven’t come to an agreement. The union wants higher wages (of course), but strike is also about the two-tiered wage system. Workers hired in 2007 or earlier make about $28 per hour. Workers hired after 2007 make $16-$19. You can see the obvious divide this would cause among workers.

While this agreement was necessary to keep plants open during the recession, we’re far from that now. The union wants to renegotiate the terms of this agreement.

The strike isn’t just about money though. It isn’t even all about other contract terms. It’s about the future of the industry and how the laborers and unions will be affected.

Electric vehicles are getting more popular, and GM has high hopes for the future of this technology. But electric motors require less parts, less labor, less people to make them. What happens to the hundreds or thousands of people who won’t be needed anymore?

Then we have to look at autonomous vehicles and the high-tech calibration of these systems. Is a general laborer going to be able to do these things? Will more engineers find their way into plants? If so, they have higher wages, and general labor jobs may be cut as a result.

At this point, we’re just looking at the plant workers, but other concerns arise. What about the technicians at dealerships? Electric vehicles require less maintenance. This means less work, less workers, less money coming in to the dealers. Fixed ops are important.

But, change is inevitable – emissions, electric, self-driving cars. They’re here to stay, and who knows what’s next.