DETROIT – The United Auto Workers union on Friday expanded its strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers again to include 7,000 more workers at two more facilities as negotiations move slower than the union wants.
UAW President Shawn Fain on Friday, Sept. 29 announced an expansion of the union’s historic simultaneous strike against General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company. The strike had already been expanded last week from three facilities to 41 facilities nationwide, with around 18,000 autoworkers striking at that time.
The strike expansions are part of the union’s tactic to push automakers to make “serious” progress with their negotiations by leveraging targeted strikes. Before the expansion, the UAW was targeting one major facility for each company, in addition to 38 parts distribution centers operated by GM and Stellantis. Because talks with Ford were progressing faster than with the other carmakers, Ford was spared from last week’s strike expansion.
Now, thousands of autoworkers at two additional facilities -- Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant -- will walk out and join the strike at noon on Friday. The Lansing Regional Stamping plant will continue working, officials said.
As of Friday, about 25,000 of the UAW’s 146,000 autoworkers -- about 17% -- would be on strike against Detroit’s Big Three.
UAW President Fain made it clear Friday that negotiations have not “broken down,” and that talks with all three companies are still ongoing. He said he is hopeful both sides can reach a deal.
According to Fain, Ford and GM have refused to make “meaningful progress” at the table, which is why their plants have been added to the strike. Fain said they are not calling on any additional Stellantis workers to go on strike, as talks with the company progressed favorably this week regarding the union’s demands for a cost of living allowance and rights for striking workers.
Fain also addressed multiple incidents of violence against UAW picketers that were reported this week. He said people crossing the picket lines have pulled guns, driven through crowds, and hurled verbal threats at striking workers in multiple states.
“We will not be intimidated into backing down,” Fain said. “Shame on anyone that would engage in violence against our members.”
The public is invited to stand on the picket lines with workers to show support for their cause.
General Motors sent the following letter to the press after Fain’s announcement. The letter is from Gerald Johnson, GM Executive Vice President for Global Manufacturing, and was sent to employees Friday morning.
“We still have not received a comprehensive counteroffer from UAW leadership to our latest proposal made on September 21. Calling more strikes is just for the headlines, not real progress. The number of people negatively impacted by these strikes is growing and includes our customers who buy and love the products we build.
“For our part, we continue to stand ready and willing to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement that benefits you and doesn’t let the non-union manufacturers win. Our current, record proposal that is on the table offers historic wage increases and job security while not jeopardizing our future. We’re here to reach an agreement so we can all get back to work, and that remains our 100% focus. Be safe.”
Union’s strike strategy
After initiating the union’s first-ever simultaneous strike against General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor Company at three facilities, one for each company, Fain expanded the strike to 38 parts distribution centers last week.
Only GM and Stellantis were included in the union’s strike expansion, however, since talks with those companies have moved particularly slow, according to Fain. When making the announcement on social media last Friday, Fain said the union’s negotiations with Ford had made significant progress, which apparently helped them avoid facing more strikes.
It’s all part of the union’s new approach to striking amid this year’s negotiations. In previous years, UAW leadership would identify one of the big three as their target company for negotiations and a potential strike. Once a deal was struck with that company, the new contract would be used to establish new contracts at the other two companies, which is called pattern bargaining.
But before the UAW’s contracts with the Big Three automakers expired on Sept. 14, the union said it would not name a target, nor would it extend any of the contracts if a new agreement wasn’t reached in time. Instead, the UAW opted to launch a strike at all three companies on Sept. 15 in an effort to encourage simultaneous negotiations with each carmaker.
“Stellantis has been intensely working with the UAW to find solutions to the issues that are of most concern to our employees while ensuring the Company can remain competitive given the market’s fierce competition. We have made progress in our discussions, but gaps remain. We are committed to continue working through these issues in an expeditious manner to reach a fair and responsible agreement that gets everyone back to work as soon as possible.”
Jodi Tinson, Senior Manager, North America Media Relations and Content, Stellantis
Union leaders have since been targeting specific locations for the strike that are intended to give them leverage as they seek to secure their aggressive list of demands. So far, the UAW has shut down assembly plants that make midsize pickup trucks, SUVs and commercial vans, and has allowed automakers to continue producing pickup trucks and large SUVs, their most profitable vehicles.
However, experts say the UAW could initiate strikes at the valuable pickup and SUV factories to push the Big Three to make better deals, especially if negotiations continue to move slower than the union desires. The union could also decide to strike at component factories, such as those making transmissions, to bring assembly lines to a halt.
Around 18,000 of the UAW’s 146,000 autoworkers, about 12%, were striking at 41 facilities across the U.S. as of Thursday, with only one Ford facility included in that count. It was unknown Thursday what facilities may be targeted next by the UAW, or how many workers would be added to the strike.
Autoworkers who have been striking since Sept. 15 are just receiving their first strike payments, which the union provides to members actively on the picket lines. The UAW had around $825 million in its strike fund before the strike began.
“In 2019, we bargained a new four-year agreement with the UAW. Our UAW workers ratified that agreement, and Ford lived up to every aspect of the contract. In fact, we went well beyond our commitments in the last three contracts. But a lot has happened since 2019. The pandemic happened. Our UAW workers built vehicles in masks and shields. And they helped this company and this industry stay alive.”
Ford President and CEO Jim Farley
UAW strike map
Here’s a map of the 43 locations, including the two newly-added facilities, where UAW-represented autoworkers will be striking as of 12 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.
UAW autoworkers are striking at the following facilities as of 12 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023:
GM
- Wentzville Assembly
- Davison Road Processing Center
- Flint Processing Center
- Lansing Redistribution
- Pontiac Redistribution
- Willow Run Redistribution
- Ypsilanti Processing Center
- Chicago Parts Distribution
- Cincinnati Parts Distribution
- Hudson, Wisconsin Parts Distribution
- Denver Parts Distribution
- Reno Parts Distribution Center
- Rancho Cucamonga Parts Distribution
- Fort Worth Parts Distribution
- Martinsburg, West Virginia Parts Distribution
- Jackson, Mississippi Parts Distribution
- Charlotte, North Carolina Parts Distribution
- Memphis AC Delco Parts Distribution
- Philadelphia Parts Distribution
- Lansing Delta Township plant
Stellantis
- Toledo Assembly Complex
- Centerline Packaging
- Centerline Warehouse
- Marysville
- Sherwood (Warren)
- Warren Parts
- Quality Engineering Center (Auburn Hills)
- Romulus
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Denver
- Los Angeles
- Portland, Oregon
- Atlanta
- Winchester, Virginia
- Orlando
- Dallas
- New York
- Boston
Ford
- Michigan Assembly Plant (final assembly and paint only)
- Chicago Assembly Plant