Mechanics worried about impact of UAW strike on auto repairs

CHICOPEE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- The United Auto Workers union is officially on-strike against the nation’s top three automakers. A little less than 13,000 union members from the union walked out of their jobs Friday morning from the three plants located in the states of Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio.

With workers striking against the big three American automakers - Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis - we’re looking into possible impacts in western Massachusetts. We checked in with KLM Auto Repair in Chicopee, where owner Kevin Wright told us he worries that the strike could be bad for business, even worse than the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s not going to be good for us, that’s for sure,” Wright said. “Even back in the pandemic, they shut everything down. Where everything was on national backorder, we had a long wait or delay to get parts and they are just starting to get back on their feet again and now, this is going to happen and is going to put us all behind and customers are probably going to have cars sitting there, waiting for parts.”

Wright said production on parts such as wheels, engines, and even car chips will be impacted, especially if the strike is not quickly resolved.

“If it goes for a long length of time, it will definitely affect all auto repair shops,” Wright added.

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