The Successful UAW Strike Portends a Successful EV Transition

By Luke Tonachel - National Resources Defense Council, November 20, 2023

When the United Auto Workers (UAW) started its strike against Ford, GM, and Stellantis earlier this year, a grim storyline took shape in the press: This strike pitted President Biden’s push for a transition to electric vehicles (EVs) against his support for workers. 

Writing about the strike and the transition to zero-emitting vehicles, the New York Times put it this way: “The political challenge posed by the industry’s transition to electric cars may be only beginning.” Politico was one of any number of publications issuing a simple warning: “UAW Strike Could Disrupt EV Rollout.” Two so-called facts were seemingly inarguable: Electric vehicles require far fewer workers to build, and none of the new battery plants could be unionized. 

But now that the strike is over—more quickly than many assumed and on much better terms for workers than analysts had said was possible—a different set of lessons are clear, and they are the exact opposite of what many in the media and hot take marketplace had predicted:

• The Big Three automakers can invest in both their workers and the factories to make new EVs.
• Workers at many of the new battery plants can enjoy the same union protection as other autoworkers or have an easier pathway to join the union. 
• Building EVs can create more jobs over the next few decades as the industry builds up its capacity and know-how. 

Before examining each of these three points, it’s important to correct one misunderstanding.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author.