Kickstart: Some suppliers may not recover from auto strike slowdowns

It's time to count the costs of the UAW strike — not the costs paid out to settle new labor contracts, but costs for the supply base.

Industry consultants with Harbour Results Inc. estimated 11,000 people in the auto industry were laid off during the six-week strike — beyond the 45,600 UAW members that went on strike. The Anderson Economic Group said the strike had cost the economy about $2.8 billion in lost supplier wages and earnings, our sister paper Automotive News reported.

The Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association said in an Oct. 31 statement that "financial concerns over the smaller and lower-tiered" companies in the supply chain will continue to be a "significant issue" for the industry even as struck assembly plants ramp back up.

"The longer-term implication for suppliers is that this unfortunately is probably going to mean some suppliers probably aren't going to make it through," said Harbour Results CEO Laurie Harbour during an Oct. 31 webinar. "Even though we ended the strike, there is tremendous vulnerability in the supply chain."

The great straw debate probably won't go down as a highlight of the 2023 congressional year, but it did get Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives a win in a tumultuous political session, at least for the moment.

As Plastics News' Steve Toloken writes, during a late-night session Nov. 2, the House approved a ban on a planned Department of the Interior move that would have provided funds to move away from plastic straws as part of its project to eliminate the sale of single-use plastics at national parks.

Officially, Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., called for killing the ban because of studies questioning whether paper straws are more environmentally friendly than plastic straws, citing reports claiming that paper straws use PFAS, or "forever chemicals."

Also, he noted, many people are frustrated that paper straws become soggy quickly.

"It's time to get the government out of our drinks," he said.

House Democrats argued that reducing single-use plastics is an important goal for sustainability and also that there are more important issues facing lawmakers at the moment.

It isn't clear whether the funding bill will be changed in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

Moda Center, the home of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, is doing a full-court press on reusable cups and glasses.

As of Oct. 27, all alcoholic beverages sold at the Oregon arena will be served in heavy-duty plastic cups from Rip City Reuse drinkware. Once guests finish their drink, they drop them off at return bins where they are collected to be cleaned, sanitized and reused at another Moda Center event.

The center said in a news release that it is the first professional sports facility in the U.S. to enact the reuse program throughout the facility.

The Trail Blazers said its fans will have the ability to eliminate 500,000 single-use cups throughout the season. The arena previously had reusable drinkware in its Club Level seating, which led to a 700-pound reduction in waste going to landfills since Rip City Reuse launched in 2022.