(Arlington, TX) -- With a looming deadline, Arlington GM workers could be on strike by Friday morning.
The Big Three automakers and the workers' union are all playing hardball, and the deadline for a deal is midnight tonight. If talks stall and a strike is called, it's likely there will be picketing at the GM plant by Friday.
The Arlington GM factory employs more than 5,000 workers, and the annual pay is about $90,000. But union strike benefits are just 500 a week, and the UAW strike fund will only stretch so far.
UT Arlington econ professor Ashish Sedai says the Arlington plant is a likely target of picket lines because, for one thing, it makes the most profitable vehicles GM produces -- the full-size SUVs like Chevy Tahoes and Suburbans, GMC Yukons, and Cadillac Escalades.
Just three weeks ago, Arlington UAW 276 workers voted to support a strike, with nearly 97% voting "for."
At 10 p.m. Thursday, the UAW will announce the plants to be targeted by picketers.
