Our local news here in Detroit said the UAW has 11 weeks of strike funds built up. The 11 weeks is a number based on all UAW members getting a weekly strike check of $500.00.
The UAW is holding their line at the negotiating table but I don't think they are going to win, Ford just announced the elimination of 600 UAW positions at the Wayne assembly plant, as reported by a TV news station.
Throughout my career (engineering) I've never worked for an employer that provided COLA, typically they gave merit raises each year which were around 2% while inflation was a point or so higher. To escalate my career I had to switch employers throughout my career to get the compensation growth. One of my managers once told me he couldn't give me a raise to keep me but he can pay the going rate on new hires. Doesn't make sense. Some of the guys I worked with quit and either hired back in or came back as a contract employee.
Excluding the skilled trade members of the UAW, most are classified as unskilled labor. It isn't easy to do assembly line repetitive work but nonetheless, they are unskilled labor. Anyone can be trained to put on a nut or snap in a plastic piece. They have a weak bargaining position.
My son is working on installing the assembly cells for the new battery plant at GM's Orion plant. The new assembly line is made up of 4,700 robotic cells, and the labor to run and manage the cells is skilled and not UAW. The UAW ship is slowly sinking.
Labor costs in a vehicle typically come in around 10% of the MSRP value. With escalating interest rates and vehicle cost increases, most folks can't afford a new vehicle. As costs soar and inflation is back on the increase, more people join the club of can't afford a new vehicle daily.