For labor activists, economists, and pundits alike, some big news came out of Mexico earlier in the month: workers at the GM Silao Mexico plant have voted to form the first independent union at the plant. Both wages and benefits are expected to increase at the plant, which has a workforce of about 6,500 and is responsible for churning out examples of the light-duty Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. Naturally, that raises the question: What might happen to GM truck prices as a result of the vote to unionize?
At present, wages at the GM Silao Mexico plant range from 184.35 to 679.53 pesos per day, which is equivalent to about $9 to $33.50. Any growth there would mean higher production costs for the light-duty Silverado and Sierra, which could spell bigger price tags for consumers, or could prompt the automaker to adjust or shift capacity in the future.
GM spokesperson David Barnas declined to comment on the matter to the Detroit Free Press earlier in the month, saying that there’s nothing that can be said until the newly formed independent union at Silao starts the collective bargaining process with the automaker.
Image via Chevrolet### Far From The Only Factor
Granted, there are plenty more factors that influence a truck’s price than just the cost of the labor to produce it. Singling out labor as the sole – or even primary – driver of rising prices at this point would be willfully ignorant. Don’t forget that there’s still a semiconductor chip shortage, and plenty more cost headwinds beside, at the same time that months and months of low supply and high demand have depleted inventories and created a white-hot market for new and used vehicles alike.
And then there’s inflation, which in the US currently stands at its highest rate since the early 1980s, exceeding 7 percent.
As we reported last week, the Ford F-150 lineup just saw across-the-board price increases of $1,500 – except for the 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor, which got a whopping $3,300 price bump. Whether because of rising labor costs or some other economic factor, were GM to increase prices for its light-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, the automaker would be in good company.
