On Monday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo stated that it’s important to remember that the conversation about a potential auto worker strike “is so different” than the last time because the companies “have profits.” And “they’re talking about how they’re going to divide up an economy that’s growing for the auto industry, because of a number of choices they’ve made, but also the investments we’ve made like the IRA. So, they’re well-positioned to cut this deal.”
Co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked, “How are you concerned about the potential for a UAW strike and what that means for our economy in the United States, and what role do you think the administration should or should not play in those discussions? There seems to be sort of a mixed view about what the UAW even wants from this administration.”
Adeyemo answered, “So, what I know is that the UAW is in active conversations with the three auto companies. Our expectation is that they’re going to get to a deal. My colleagues Gene Sperling and the acting labor secretary are engaging in those conversations, as is appropriate. But ultimately, I think the thing that we have to remember is that the conversation right now is so different than the last time I was in government during the financial crisis, that those auto companies are having. They have profits. The question now is how do they make sure that those profits are divided amongst the companies and labor?”
Later, Adeyemo added that it’s in the best interests of the auto companies to have their workers and have union labor, co-host Becky Quick asked, “If there is a strike, though, it’s been estimated that it would be a $5.6 billion hit to the GDP of the United States within ten days if there’s a strike at all three. Do you have contingency planning for that? Is this something the administration’s thinking through?”
Adeyemo responded, “So, I don’t have — I’m not going to talk about the hypotheticals, but what I can tell you is that, ultimately, what we know is that both sides want to reach a deal because it’s in their economic interest, and, ultimately, they’re talking about how they’re going to divide up an economy that’s growing for the auto industry, because of a number of choices they’ve made, but also the investments we’ve made like the IRA. So, they’re well-positioned to cut this deal. That’s what we expect them to do, to be in a position where they can continue to grow the U.S. auto sector, and that, by doing that, we continue to grow the economy.”
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