KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Local plants throughout the Kansas City area weren't technically part of the UAW strikes, but the General Motors plant in Fairfax was idled.
Workers there are back now, but they're still waiting to vote on their contracts.
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It's a big step in getting back to business, but businesses nearby say normalcy is still a ways away.
"[It] definitely affected the business," said Angelynn Howell with Anna's BLD Bistro.
She and the owners of other nearby restaurants say the last few weeks have been slow and that the strikes played a role.
"They're in flux," Howell said of the workers and restaurants in the area. "And so they're like everybody else. You keep it going, do what you got to do."
They're currently far from the level of business they used to expect.
Howell says even when workers return to factory lines, they still have to wait to be paid.
"Got to put in the time to get the money," she said. "And they're supposedly supposed to get a raise, so that will be good."
She's got the closest restaurant to the GM Fairfax plant — so Howell's pay is tied to worker pay.
When the checks do come in, they of course won't just go right to businesses.
"Everybody just saving for Black Friday," Howell said.
She mentions the sale in jest but brings up a valid point. Holidays are right around the corner, and by the time paychecks are cashed, families may have other things on their plate.
"It might be a couple months," she said. "We'll probably be into the new year before it really gets back to normal — what we consider normal."
That's the thing about a ripple. Well after the stone is thrown, you've got to wait for things to settle.
"What else am I going to do? I mean ... they'll be fine, we'll be fine," she said.
