PARMA, Ohio — Hours after approximately 5,000 workers walked off the job at a General Motors plant in Texas, the company has responded by laying off 139 UAW employees at the Parma Metal Center.
The layoffs will take effect on Wednesday, according to UAW Local 1005 President Dan Schwartz.
The Parma Metal Center employs 960 workers, according to its website. The center processes over 550 tons of steel per day, while supporting and servicing approximately 20 different customers, including the majority of GM vehicles built in North America.
Last month, GM laid off 137 workers in Parma in response to a strike extension at the company's plant near Lansing, Michigan, which makes large crossover SUVs such as the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave.
Similarly, the UAW's strike expansion at GM's factory in Arlington, Texas, involves a plant that makes big, high margin SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade.
"We have said repeatedly that nobody wins in a strike, and that effects go well beyond our employees on the plant floor and negatively impact our customers, suppliers and the communities where we do business, such as Parma," GM said in a statement. "What is happening to our team members in all six plants is a clear demonstration of that fact. We will continue to bargain in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”
The strike in Texas, as well as at the largest Ford factory in the world in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Stellantis plant that makes lucrative Ram pickups in Michigan, are aimed at getting the companies to capitulate to union demands for richer wages and benefits than the automakers so far have offered.
In announcing the Arlington strike, UAW President Shawn Fain noted that GM posted big earnings on Tuesday, yet its offer to the union lags behind Ford, preserving a two-tier wage structure and offering the weakest 401(k) contribution of all three automakers.
“It’s time GM workers, and the whole working class, get their fair share,” Fain said.
But GM CEO Mary Barra told investors on the company's earnings conference call that the automaker already has made a record offer and won’t sign a contract that jeopardizes the company’s future.
“We will not agree to a contract that isn’t responsible for our employees and for our shareholders," she said. "We need to make sure we have a contract that is going to allow us to compete and win in what is a challenging market for EVs and also allows us to support the business that we have with strong margins in our (internal combustion engine) business.”
Earlier this month, Ford laid off more than 370 workers from its Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Brook Park. Also, workers at the Stellantis parts and distribution center in Streetsboro have been on strike since September 22.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Previous Reporting:
- UAW strikes at General Motors SUV plant as union starts targeting profit centers of automakers
- Autoworkers strike at Stellantis plant shutting down big profit center, 41,000 workers now picketing
- 'Anxiety is high': UAW workers react after hundreds laid off from Ford's Cleveland Engine Plant in Brook Park