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Auto Workers Hold Lots of Cards Even If US Heads for Recession

Wages are low and dealers desperately need inventory. The UAW will drive a hard bargain next year.

An employee working on a vehicle at General Motors’ Lansing Delta Township assembly plant in Michigan.

An employee working on a vehicle at General Motors’ Lansing Delta Township assembly plant in Michigan.

Photographer: Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg
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General Motors skirted a strike this week that could have affected production of some of its most profitable vehicles. Details of the agreement with about 700 subsystem workers, who deliver parts to the assembly line, aren’t yet public and still have to be ratified. But the close call and tough talks offer a glimpse of what could be coming next year, when GM, Ford and Stellantis negotiate new four-year contracts for their roughly 150,000 US employees represented by the United Auto Workers.