Just after midnight on Friday, the union announced in a message on X, the website now known as Twitter, “The UAW Stand Up Strike begins at all three of the Big Three.”
- ESSENTIAL POINTS
- After Detroit automakers missed a deadline on Thursday night to negotiate agreements with the union, thousands of United Auto Workers members went on strike at three important factories.
- These factories are located in Wentzville, Missouri for GM’s midsize truck and full-size van production, Wayne, Michigan for Ford’s Ranger midsize pickup and Bronco SUV production, and Toledo, Ohio for Stellantis’ Jeep production.
- The union estimated that 12,700 workers would go on strike. About 146,000 employees of Ford, GM, and Stellantis are represented by the UAW.
DETROIT – After the union and the automakers were unable to come to an agreement on a new labor contract Thursday night, thousands of members of the United Auto Workers went on strike at three General Motors, Ford Motor, and Stellantis manufacturing factories in the United States.
These factories are located in Wentzville, Missouri for GM’s midsize truck and full-size van production, Wayne, Michigan for Ford’s Ranger midsize pickup and Bronco SUV production, Toledo, Ohio for Stellantis’ Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator production. Only those employed in paint and final assembly at Ford, according to UAW President Shawn Fain, will go on strike.
Fain said outside the Wayne Ford site, “We got to do what we got to do to get our share of economic and social justice in this strike.” “We’ll remain here until we receive our fair share of economic justice. Additionally, it is irrelevant how long it takes.
The chosen factories produce the automakers’ very lucrative and, for the most part, still in great demand, automobiles. The union estimated that 12,700 workers across the three plants—5,800 at Stellantis, 3,600 at GM, and 3,300 at Ford—will go on strike. About 146,000 employees from Ford, GM, and Stellantis are represented by the UAW.
The automakers, to whom Fain was referring, “if they come to the pump and they take care of their workers, we’ll be back to work,” he said early on Friday. But if they don’t, we’ll keep ratcheting up the pressure.
The union chose the facilities as part of targeted strike preparations that Fain, who has unconventionally been negotiating with all three automakers at once and has been unwilling to yield much on the union’s demands, first stated Wednesday night.
Targeted attacks frequently concentrate on important plants, which might force other plants to stop producing when they run out of components. Although they are not uncommon, Fain’s proposed method of conducting the work stops is unusual. Initiating targeted strikes at particular factories is one of them, with the possibility of expanding the number of strikes later on depending on how the discussions are doing. It is also unusual for such strikes to pick assembly plants.
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Just after 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Fain made a statement that was aired live on Facebook and YouTube. “For the first time in our history, we will strike all three of the ‘Big Three’ at once,” he declared. “We’re employing a new tactic called a’stand-up’ strike. Select facilities, localities, or units will be asked to stand.
Fain has referred to the union’s proposals as a “stand-up strike,” paying homage to the UAW’s illustrious “sit-down” strikes of the 1930s.
Among other things on the table, such as improved retiree benefits and improved vacation and family leave benefits, the union’s key proposals have included 40% hourly pay increases, a reduced 32-hour workweek, a return to traditional pensions, the elimination of compensation tiers, and a restoration of cost-of-living adjustments (COLA).
Even when President Joe Biden got involved, it became apparent late on Thursday that there would not be a settlement. The White House reported that Biden, who takes pride in his working-class upbringing and commitment to organized labor, spoke with Fain and the top executives of the Detroit automakers. On Friday, the president was scheduled to address the strike in the media.
The UAW provided its “first substantive counterproposal” to four of the company’s offers, according to a statement from Ford on Thursday night, but it “showed little movement from the union’s initial demands.”
“If implemented, the proposal would more than double Ford’s current UAW-related labor costs, which are already significantly higher than the labor costs of Tesla, Toyota and other foreign-owned automakers in the United States that utilize non-union-represented labor,”Added Ford. “The union made it clear that it plans a work stoppage for 11:59 p.m. Eastern unless we agree to its unfeasible terms.”
Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, stated that she was “extremely frustrated and disappointed” about the strike on Friday morning.
Record-breaking bids from the automakers have addressed some but not all of the UAW’s lofty requests. The corporations specifically made 20% pay increases, COLA, modified profit-sharing incentives, and improved vacation and family leave upgrades, all of which the union deemed to be insufficient.
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