Striking unions impacting the economy at a level not seen in decades
CNBC 2023-09-18 17:44:45 • 5 mins
Key Points
- So far, the United Auto Workers stoppage has impacted just a small portion of the workforce with limited implications for the broader economy.
- However, if things heat up and it turns into an all-out strike, bringing into play the 146,000 of those working at Ford, GM and Stellantis, that could change things.
- August alone saw some 4.1 million labor hours lost this year, the most for a single month since August 2000.
- Potential pay raises have raised the specter that inflation, which has abated recently from 40-year highs, could be stickier as unions fight for higher ground.
The auto workers' strike is the latest in a series of labor-management conflicts that economists say could start having significant growth impacts if they persist.
So far, the United Auto Workers stoppage has impacted just a small portion of the workforce with limited implications for the broader economy.
But it is part of a pattern in labor-management conflicts that has resulted in the most missed hours of work in some 23 years, according to Labor Department statistics.
