Strikes could be 'destabilizing' for U.S. economy: US Chamber of Commerce exec.

In This Article:

With the UAW strike is in Day 4 and and government shutdown looming, Neil Bradley, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President joins us to discuss the "ripple effects" of both on the U.S economy. Bradley states that agreement to the demands made by UAW could lead to higher consumer costs and the Big Three becoming less competitive. Bradley says the Biden Administration is prioritizing a “whole of government approach,” which he fears could lead to an "imbalance in the management-labor relationship."

House Republicans have released a short-term bill that would avert a shutdown until the end of October. Bradley insists that a shutdown is a “choice” and worries that government shutdowns are becoming ”way too common.” Bradley warns the implications for the economy could be serious and hurtful for companies and individuals that rely on the government for permits or any sort of documents in order to run their businesses.

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: The future is still uncertain, Ford telling 600 workers not to come back to work at Michigan assembly plant. And GM warn the 2,000 workers are expected to be out of work at a Kansas assembly plant. Now, for more on the effects of the strike, we want to bring in Neil Bradley, US Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer. Neil, it's good to see you here.

So let's talk about the economic implications of this because we initially anticipated or at least we're bracing ourselves for a massive strike. At least right now, the strike is targeted at three plants. So what are the ripple effects? What are the economic implications of the strike up until this point?

NEIL BRADLEY: Well, Seana, you're exactly right on the ripple effects. And that's the way I would describe it. You're already beginning to see some of those ripple effects as you have other plants where a strike is not occurring, but they rely on parts and inputs from these other plants being affected. That's likely to continue, and it's likely to spread.

You've heard from the UAW president that they may accelerate and expand this strike. So even in the short term, we're not out of the woods yet in terms of the negative economic consequences. Though I think left almost undiscussed and it should be discussed a lot more is the long term impact of this on two fronts.

One, the demands that the union leadership has are only going to increase costs for consumers. If they come anywhere close to what they're demanding, you're talking about making these companies less competitive in the future. That has broader long term ramifications.