GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is preparing for a strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. The deadline for a new contract is Thursday night at 11:59 p.m.
With the possibility of UAW strike, FOX 17 spoke with a Western Michigan University professor, Dr. Bruce Ferrin, about the economic impact of a strike.
According to Dr. Ferrin, if final assembly stops because of a strike, it won’t take long before it impacts Michigan’s economy.
“Very quickly. I mean, for some parts auto manufacturers, run with just hours of inventory. For other parts, they run with just days of inventory,” said Dr. Ferrin. “So, the effects of a work stoppage, and final assembly, would ripple out into the economy very quickly.”
One concern about the strike is how it would affect those who are looking to purchase a vehicle.
“In my experience, prices usually go up much more quickly than you would expect in, in situations like this," said Dr. Ferrin. "So, you would if, if the manufacturers costs go up because of new contract, you would expect them to raise their prices. And on top of that, I don’t know to what extent the availability of new autos has completely recovered from the pandemic. And so again, if the strike stops final assembly, then that affects availability, if availability goes down. Unless demand goes down as well, prices are gonna go up.”
