Detroit’s ‘Big 3’ Falls as UAW Launches Strikes

A union representing nearly 150,000 autoworkers, the United Auto Workers (UAW), initiated a strike against the three major U.S. automakers, General Motors (GM:US), Ford (F:US), and Stellantis (STLA:US). 

The strike began early Friday morning after the UAW and the car manufacturers failed to reach a contract agreement before the union's deadline of Thursday at 11:59 p.m.

Today’s actions involve approximately 12,700 union workers from various plants. UAW President Shawn Fain announced the plants where union members would strike if a tentative agreement wasn't reached by the deadline.

The strike is characterized as a "stand-up" strike, where not all union members strike simultaneously.

In an interview with CNBC, GM’s CEO Marry Barra said she still hopes that strikes can be swiftly resolved following what she described as a "historic" offer from the automaker.

Barra stated that GM had made its most significant offer in 150 years. She added that strikes will “not be good for the economy overall”.

GM shares fell 0.5% at the open while Ford stock lost 1.5%. Stellantis, which owns the Jeep brand, shares were flat at the open.

Looking at the Congress members’ trades in these three stocks, Representative Michael Burgess bought $15,000 - $50,000 worth of STLA shares in late August. Similarly, Rep. Bill Keating bought GM corporate bonds in June.

On the other hand in recent months, Rep. Ro Khanna, Daniel Goldman, and Earl Blumenauer were selling shares of these carmakers.