MILWAUKEE — Union autoworkers are on strike at three plants for the big three automakers, which are Ford, GM, and Chrysler-maker Stellantis.
Wisconsin is not without connection to the industry. The auto industry has economic implications throughout the state.
Over the years, the Wisconsin auto industry has seen its ups and downs. In the early 2000s, both Janesville and Kenosha lost their auto plants. TMJ4 was there with the devastated worker on their final days on the job.
The first plant closure happened in Janesville in 2009. However, the plant went idle in 2008.
(Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
"I was crying all day, you feel sick,” said a woman whose husband worked at the GM plant in Janesville.
"I'm kinda worried and scared and wondering what's going to happen next. You just have to keep your hopes up,” said a worker as he walked out of the plant in 2008.
Then, TMJ4 was in Kenosha with those workers.
"It's hard. It's going to be hard on the Kenosha area in general,” said a woman as she drove into the Chrysler plant one of the final times.
"I'd trade with them in a minute if I could but not possible,” said a worker finishing her shift in 2010.
But even though auto manufacturing is not what it once was, the Milwaukee Business Journal's long-time manufacturing reporter Rich Kirchen says the industry has not gone away.
"The industry does live on some, but it is the suppliers who are still here. We don't have the automakers,” said Kirchen.
In Wisconsin, there are 127,400 auto jobs and 3.5 percent of the population depends on the auto industry for jobs, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
On top of that, the Wisconsin Automobile and Truck Dealers Association president and CEO Bill Sepic says their industry affects almost every community in the state.
"This is $17.5 billion in total sales in the State of Wisconsin, payroll just for these people is $1.5 billion. I mean, these are some impressive figures. We're not a small industry,” said Sepic.
He says even though the dealers are relying on automakers for their cars and their parts, he wants customers to know they are in the same place.
"Both of us, you, the consumer, and us, the dealer, we're kind of one party removed from all this. So we have to, we're all sitting on the sidelines watching and hoping for the best results,” said Sepic.
The auto jobs in Wisconsin do make big money for the state. According to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, they bring in nearly $8 billion in income and $1 billion in state tax revenue.
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