This week marks a make or break moment for the UAW-GM strike. The union will hold a vote to either ratify or strike down the tentative agreement both the automaker and union agreed to last week. In the meantime, union leadership has agreed to continue the strike, which has so far lasted 36 days.
The decision to keep the strike on has a new victim, however: The Chevrolet Blazer. Reuters first reported this weekend the automaker was forced to halt production as parts shortages finally took their toll. It's the second time the UAW strike has bruised GM's Mexico production. The automaker previously confirmed the strike laid off thousands of Mexican workers and impacted transmission and pickup truck production.
Roadshow reached out to GM for additional information but the automaker did not immediately return our request.
The decision to build Chevy's midsize SUV in Mexico was one that not only left a wound for the UAW union, but brushed said wound with salt. GM announced the Blazer would call Mexico home mere months after laying off the Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant's second shift. Last November, GM announced the Lordstown plant would go unallocated until it hashed out a new labor agreement with the UAW.
Joining the Lordstown plant in an unallocated status is the Detroit-Hamtramck production plant and two transmission production plants. The UAW-GM tentative labor agreement officially closes Lordstown and the transmission plants, but keeps the Detroit plant online for the foreseeable future. It could become the home of an electric pickup truck.
The full union will vote on whether to approve the tentative agreement and go back to work on Oct. 25. If the deal fails, it could lengthen an already incredibly costly strike for both UAW workers and GM.
