JANESVILLE, Wis. -- It's too soon to tell how much impact the General Motors strike will have on the Rock County economy.

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The automotive industry represents 5 to 7 percent of Rock County's employment, and there's legitimate concern about how long the strike will last, WISC-TV reported. Some people in the community said that they're hoping for a short strike that will preserve local jobs.

"These jobs are good jobs worth fighting for," said retired GM worker Steve Flood.

Janesville GM retiree Steve Flood joined 70,000 GM workers nationwide on the picket line on Monday. He's among nearly 340,000 retirees who are also a part of the strike.

"You know it's our company too," said Flood. "I worked at General Motors for 34 years. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into that company."

Flood started at the Janesville GM plant in 1965 making chasses for the Chevy Impala. Five years after he started, he joined the last big GM strike. He rode the company's ups and downs from changes to smaller vehicles at the local plant, to larger ones.

Now, his company and his plant are back in the news.

He said that his main concern is job security.

"I fear if they have an agreement here that doesn't keep our plant in Janesville that that's going to have a devastating effect on this community and this state," said Flood.

Flood, 60, said he built a good life through GM and said he'll make more concessions to help control GM's health care costs. However, he said he wants the union to get protection for plants like Janesville's in return.

There are many others hoping for that protection, including 20 to 25 local suppliers and between 2,000 and 4,000 workers outside the plant who are directly dependent on Janesville GM. Some said that they remain optimistic a deal will be reached soon, WISC-TV reported.

"I think initially, there's a hopefulness and I don't think the impact is going to be all that strong, inside-outside two weeks though," said Forward Janesville's Executive Director John Beckord. "I think people will start reevaluating this but again our expectation is it won't last that long."

Beckord, who is with the economic development group, Forward Janesville, said a strike that lasts two to three weeks would start to pinch many companies, including nearly 380 suppliers across the state.

The strike affects approximately 2,800 GM workers in Janesville. While on strike, workers receive $200 a week, plus medical benefits from the UAW strike fund, WISC-TV reported.