WAYNE, Mich. – With UAW workers on strike at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, nearby businesses have noticed a drop in customers, including the BP gas station at Michigan Avenue and S John Hix Road.
“Most of these people come every day when they have a break they come and purchased stuff from my station,” said BP gas station manager Wissam Ammar. “Now it’s getting very slow and nobody is coming by.”
The strike began last Friday. UAW members are striking against Detroit’s Big Three automakers, targeting plants in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri.
Related: UAW: More workers to strike if ‘serious progress’ isn’t made with Big Three by Friday
Sami Rayshouny operates a Lebanese food truck, Sami’s Fattoush Express, that he parks at the BP.
“I understand what’s going on with the strike I feel like everybody should get rewarded for all their hard work, but we are hoping that the strike comes to an end and everybody goes back to their normal routine,” he said.
Rayshouny owns restaurants in Clinton Township and Sterling Heights.
With UAW president Shawn Fain is promising to expand the strike Friday, if necessary.
Read: UAW ramps up pressure on day 5 of strike against Detroit’s Big Three
Rayshouny is worried.
“Nobody is ever prepared for all this, but at the end of the day we are here to make some good food,” he said.
Ammar doesn’t know how he will pivot if the strike goes on for weeks.
“I hope everything will go fine with them,” he said referring to the striking workers.
More: UAW justifies wage demands by pointing to CEO pay raises. So how high were they?