DETROIT – The president of the United Auto Workers union is expected to address members live on social media on Friday -- a setup he has used the last two Fridays to announce additional strike locations at the facilities of Detroit’s Big Three automakers.
UAW President Shawn Fain has been hosting weekly updates for members on Fridays as negotiations continue between the union and the prominent carmakers. When the UAW initiated its first-ever simultaneous strike against General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor Company, workers only began striking at three of their facilities. Over the last few weeks, the union first expanded the strike to include 38 GM and Stellantis parts distribution centers, and then again to include two more GM and Ford plants.
In his 2 p.m. announcement on Friday, Oct. 6, Fain could identify more strike locations. In a social media post, Fain teased the announcement with a parody of the reality show “The Bachelor,” telling people to tune in to “see who gets the rose!”
Negotiations have been ongoing between the union and the carmakers, but no deal has been reached yet -- though Ford did provide a new offer to the union this week. GM officials said Thursday that the company is focused on achieving a “record contract and a strong future for our employees.” GM did, however, just secure a $6 billion line of credit in expectation of a long-lasting strike.
---> UAW latest: New Ford offer, more layoffs, GM secures $6B credit line amid strike
Rather than striking at every Big Three facility all at once, the union is targeting strikes at increasingly valuable locations in hopes of creating leverage with the companies. The hope, as with most strikes, is to speed up the bargaining process and to push automakers to honor the UAW’s aggressive list of demands that seeks to provide better pay and benefits to its workers.
The targeted strikes also help the union to stretch out its strike fund, which was around $825 million before the strike began. This fund helps pay members on the picket line while they’re not working.
If Fain does announce additional strike locations, UAW-represented workers at those locations are likely to walk out the same day. It was not yet known which locations or how many additional workers might be added to the strike.
So far, about 25,000 of the UAW’s 146,000 autoworkers were striking as of Thursday. UAW President Fain has said the union will strike as long as it needs to.
Workers on the picket line at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne told Local 4 on Wednesday night that they are hopeful about the new offer, but they think they will be there for a while.
“We’ve never been in this situation before, so we don’t really know what tomorrow is going to bring,” said Sue Murphy, a 27-year Ford veteran. “We’re fighting for the next generation either way. So, it’s not about, ‘Do we have a choice?’ We don’t have a choice. We’re out here for the long haul, whether we like it or not.”
Strike locations as of Thursday
Here’s a map of the Big Three facilities where UAW workers were actively striking as of Thursday, Oct. 5.
Here’s a list of the auto facilities where UAW workers were on strike as of Thursday, Oct. 5:
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