When the UAW called for the strike two days ago, people thought they were just going through the motions.

The 2-day-old nationwide strike against General Motors Corp.(GM.N) by the United Auto Workers union spilled across borders on Tuesday, threatening production in Mexico and shutting down Canadian plants, as both sides resumed bargaining in Detroit.

More than 73,000 UAW-represented factory workers walked picket lines in the first national strike against the top U.S. automaker since 1970.

The strike began on Monday after 10 weeks of contract talks seen as crucial to GM’s survival as it restructures money-losing U.S. operations and tries to free itself from a health-care obligation of more than $50 billion.

GM told dealers that it had enough vehicles in the pipeline “for the immediate future” and said it would maintain spending on sales incentives and advertising during the strike.

But the impact from the UAW-ordered shutdown of more than 80 GM facilities in the United States hit GM’s plants in Canada and Mexico, which are closely aligned to the U.S. operations and depend on them for some auto parts.

I bet the people who can no longer work because their plants are shuttered aren’t too happy about those motions right about now. So how long do you think the “strike” will last? Do you think we’re in it for the longhaul, or do you think it will be over quickly?

Me? I think the whole thing is stupid. The UAW named GM as their strike target weeks ago, so we all saw this coming, didn’t we?

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