The UAW’s national strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers has entered its second week as over 18,000 of the union’s 146,000 autoworkers are striking, and that number could grow if progress is not made soon in talks.
But as of Monday (Sept. 25), the UAW had yet to announce a new deadline for the automakers publicly.
There was some hope Ford and the UAW could strike a deal over the weekend, considering Shawn Fain’s positive review when announcing the General Motors and Stellantis parts depot strike Friday.
We’re still waiting, but Local 4 was told that the talks with Ford were very active and still closest to getting a settlement.
For the Parts Depot strikers like Judith Rice at UAW Local 653 in Pontiac, Fain’s decision to put them on strike Friday isn’t the burden you might expect.
“I think it’s an honor that he selected us because he knows the economics of the business,” said Rice.
Those economics include hitting the customer first by starving dealerships of parts nationwide.
Dealers like Thad Szott saw the strike coming and did what he could to prepare.
“When people have a car down it’s a huge inconvenience, right, so they want their car back as fast as possible,” said Szott. “We want to get it repaired as fast as possible.”
So, he and his dealership looked at the most common and often required repair parts they use.
“It’s not a perfect science,” Szott said. “You know you don’t exactly know what part you’re going to need, but the ones you want to look at, you want the most utilized parts in your shop, is what you want to start with.”
Brakes, oil and cabin filters, shocks, struts, and windshield wipers are stocked up as much as possible.
But we’re only three days into the Parts Depot shutdown. Szott offered advice for those who need work done.
“Now, certainly, you want to get your car in sooner rather than later,” Szott said. “We’re rolling through cars without a problem.”
And, if you’re looking for a new vehicle, Scott says dealers he knows are sporting uncomfortably large inventories as a precaution against a longer strike.
“We don’t like to carry huge inventories because there is a financial cost to that, but you have to weigh the pros and cons,” Szott said. “We saw what could happen, and it did.”
Szott told Local 4 that the Stellantis dealers know what parts other dealers have on hand and are willing to share what they have to keep customers happy.
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