2019 General Motors strike
A six-week nationwide labor strike by approximately 48,000 United Auto Workers members against General Motors in 2019.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The 2019 General Motors strike was a major labor dispute between General Motors (GM) and the United Automobile Workers (UAW). It began late on September 15, 2019, following the expiration of the parties’ collective-bargaining agreement and the failure of negotiations to produce a new contract. The walkout involved approximately 48,000 UAW-represented GM employees at roughly 50 facilities in the United States and became the largest coordinated stoppage at a major American automaker in more than a decade. The dispute reflected tensions that had accumulated after the financial crisis and the restructuring of the American auto industry. During the Great Recession, unionized workers had accepted concessions intended to help GM and other manufacturers survive. By 2019, the company had returned to profitability and benefited from substantial public-policy support, while many workers argued that their wages had not kept pace with corporate recovery. The UAW also objected to GM’s plans to idle or close American facilities and to shift some production and employment to other countries. Core bargaining issues included wage growth, health-care costs and coverage, job security, the use and treatment of temporary workers, a path for temporary employees to become permanent, and commitments to future production in the United States. The strike disrupted vehicle assembly, transmission production, parts flows, and the operations of suppliers connected to GM’s North American manufacturing network. GM initially stopped providing health insurance for striking workers, leading the UAW to arrange continuation coverage through COBRA; the company later agreed to resume paying health-insurance costs for employees on strike. Because GM began the stoppage with a substantial inventory of vehicles available for sale, the immediate effect on customers was partly buffered, although the interruption became increasingly significant as plants and suppliers exhausted parts and work-in-process inventories. Negotiators reached a tentative agreement on October 16, but workers remained on strike until UAW members ratified the contract. Ratification took place on October 25, ending a stoppage that had lasted approximately six weeks. The agreement provided alternating base-wage increases and lump-sum payments, changes to the progression scale that accelerated newer workers’ path to the top wage rate, health-care provisions, arrangements concerning temporary employees, and commitments to selected future production. In exchange, GM retained the ability to close or idle three facilities: Lordstown Assembly in Ohio, Baltimore Transmission in Maryland, and Warren Transmission in Michigan. Workers affected by those closures were offered assistance packages reported at approximately $75,000 to $85,000. The strike also had a wider political and industrial significance. It renewed public discussion of plant closures, globalization, employment security, union bargaining power, and the distribution of gains between companies and workers. The Teamsters declined to deliver GM vehicles during the action in solidarity with the striking employees. Several Democratic presidential candidates visited UAW picket lines, while claims that members of the Trump administration had intervened in negotiations were denied by both the administration figures named and GM. The event is a specific labor action rather than a consumer brand, product line, or continuing organization.
History
The strike developed from contract negotiations between General Motors and the United Automobile Workers in 2019. The previous labor agreement expired on September 14. After extended negotiations, the UAW authorized a walkout that began at 11:59 p.m. on September 15, sometimes reported as September 16 because the action continued into the following calendar day. Around 48,000 employees at approximately 50 American facilities participated. The UAW’s demands combined immediate economic concerns with longer-term employment-security issues. Workers sought higher wages, preservation of health-care benefits, improved job security, and a more reliable route for temporary employees to become permanent members of the workforce. The union also challenged GM’s plans to close or idle facilities in the United States and sought commitments that future vehicle and component production would remain at American plants. These issues were linked to concessions made during the Great Recession and to the company’s subsequent return to profitability. The stoppage spread through GM’s production system, affecting assembly, transmission, component, and supplier operations. GM initially stopped paying health-insurance costs for striking employees, while the UAW used COBRA continuation coverage to maintain access to insurance. GM later restored its payments. The company’s inventory of vehicles available for sale initially softened the effect on dealers and customers, but the continuing absence of parts and assembled vehicles increased pressure on GM and its suppliers. The parties announced a tentative agreement on October 16. Its terms included wage increases, lump-sum payments, health-care provisions, a faster progression to the top wage rate for newer employees, rules affecting temporary workers, and production commitments at selected facilities. The contract also permitted GM to close or idle Lordstown Assembly, Baltimore Transmission, and Warren Transmission. Employees affected by those closures were offered assistance packages reported at roughly $75,000 to $85,000. Ratification was completed on October 25, bringing the strike to an end after approximately six weeks. The action was the first major U.S. automotive labor dispute of its scale in about a decade and the first coordinated UAW strike against GM since 2007. Its aftermath included renewed debate about the balance between corporate restructuring and worker security, the effect of global production strategies on American communities, and the role of unions in a changing auto industry. The strike also demonstrated how a stoppage at one automaker could affect suppliers, logistics providers, local economies, and political debate.
- 2019
Collective-bargaining agreement expires
[1]The existing GM-UAW labor agreement expired on September 14 after negotiations had not produced a new contract.
- 2019
Nationwide strike begins
[1]Approximately 48,000 UAW members began a coordinated strike at GM facilities late on September 15, continuing into September 16.
- 2019
GM restores health-insurance payments
[1]After initially ending its payments for striking workers’ health insurance, GM announced on September 26 that it would resume them.
- 2019
Tentative agreement announced
[1]GM and the UAW announced a tentative new labor contract on October 16, subject to ratification by union members.
- 2019
Contract ratified and strike ends
[1]UAW members approved the agreement on October 25, ending the strike after roughly six weeks.
Brand decisions
2019
GM accepts a new labor contract while retaining selected plant closuresStrategyBackground
The strike centered on wages, health-care costs, temporary-worker status, job security, and GM’s plans for American facilities.
Action taken
The ratified agreement provided wage increases, lump-sum payments, improved wage progression, health-care provisions, temporary-worker rules, and selected production commitments, while allowing closures or idling at Lordstown, Baltimore, and Warren.
Aftermath
The agreement ended the strike but formalized the loss or reduction of employment at three facilities and provided affected workers with assistance packages reported at approximately $75,000 to $85,000.
Recent events
- 2019
UAW members begin strike against General Motors[1]
Other
Approximately 48,000 United Automobile Workers members walked out at GM facilities across the United States after the collective-bargaining agreement expired and negotiations failed to produce a replacement.
- 2019
General Motors suspends and later restores health-insurance payments for striking workers[1]
Other
GM initially stopped paying health-insurance costs for union members on strike, prompting the UAW to arrange COBRA coverage. GM announced later in September that it would resume the payments.
- 2019
Tentative labor agreement reached between GM and UAW[1]
Other
GM and the UAW reached a tentative contract on October 16, although the strike continued until members formally approved the agreement.
- 2019
UAW members ratify contract and end six-week strike[1]
Other
Union members ratified the tentative agreement on October 25, ending the nationwide stoppage after approximately six weeks.
- 2019
Teamsters support striking GM workers[1]
Other
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to deliver GM vehicles during the strike as an act of solidarity with UAW members.
Sources1 sources
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