UAW strike enters second month, a driving update

I foreshadowed today's post at the end of Seth Meyers takes a closer look at Trump's gag order and Jim Jordan running for Speaker.

I haven't mentioned the UAW strike since Meyers' and Colbert's guests on strikes and labor issues. I plan on posting a driving update tomorrow, so it will be the perfect opportunity to do so. After all, both are about cars.

I begin with WDIV/Click On Detroit reporting UAW strike against Detroit 3 could have potential long-term consequences.

Ford chairman Bill Ford sent a warning to the United Auto Workers Monday and its President Shawn Fain. He said unless the company and the union get together on a contract, the industry could suffer and its future put in doubt.

Ford is preaching (domestic) industry solidarity, Fain is preaching class solidarity. Those could potentially be working in parallel, but right now they are at right angles to each other.

WDIV reported on decisions GM and Stellantis, formerly Chrysler, made in UAW strike: Week 5 sees both friction and hopefulness, Big Three layoffs.

The UAW has yet to reach a deal with any of Detroit’s Big Three automakers, though contract talks that started in July have continued since the historic strike was initiated one month ago.

I tell my students how computerized cars are every semester and the auto companies going to the Computer Electronics Show (CES) serves as an example of that. That Stellantis is not going next year is a sign of how severe the effects of the strike have become. Speaking of which, Fox 2 Detroit mentioned that the auto industry has already lost $8 billion from the strike in As UAW strike marches on, smaller auto suppliers may be left behind.

Marick Masters, a Wayne State University business professor, says the small suppliers make the plastic and metal parts that go into the cars we love. And right now, they risk running out of money.

A partial but escalating strike has cost the big three U.S. automakers $8 billion in just one month, while two complete strikes cost the entertainment industry nearly $6 billion over five-and-one-half months. The comparison shows that manufacturing is more important to the economy, even though entertainment is more fun to write about.

That's the current snapshot of the big picture involving cars. Follow over the jump for my personal driving update.


Pearl the Prius rolled over 61,000 miles as I parked at the first of three worksites yesterday, October 17, 2023. That's exactly seven weeks, 49 days, since she passed 60,000 miles on August 29, 2023, which translates to 29.41 miles per day, 622.45 miles per standard month, and 7,448.98 miles per year. That's nearly twice the 11.36 miles per day, 349.59 miles per standard month, and 4,147.73 miles per standard year I drove her between June 1, 2023 and August 29, 2023. It's also a lot more than the 13.16 miles per day, 401.32 miles per standard month, and 4,802.63 miles per standard year I drove her between August 12, 2022 and November 2, 2022, the comparable period last year. I can account for some of the jump by driving to three campuses in a week during the Fall Semester instead of just one during the Summer Semester and some of the rest because of detours because of construction, but I'm at a loss to account for the rest unless I'm running more errands, too. Maybe.

My wife is driving Snow Bear more, so our total driving should be way up when I report on her car by the end of the year. In the meantime, stay tuned for a retail apocalypse update tomorrow, as Rite Aid has declared bankruptcy.