By Maria Carter
Kansas City, MO – The United Auto Workers strike against G-M could start to affect other workers in the region. KCUR's Maria Carter explains.
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The assembly line now sits idle at G-M's Fairfax plant. Yesterday morning hundreds of workers walked out of the plant and onto the picket line. The UAW and GM are trying to hammer out a new contract, but negotiations have stalled over issues such as health insurance and retirement benefits. UAW local 31 president Jeff Manning says the shut down could soon start affecting workers in nearby factories that supply the auto maker.
Jeff Manning: There are a lot of feeder plants that feed into this plant that feed into this plant that are UAW local. One of them is in Riverside, one's in North Kansas City, one's in Liberty, and they run on just in time so they will soon be out of work.
Nationwide some 73-thousand workers are on strike. The plant in Kansas City makes the Chevy Malibu and the Saturn Aura.