A month after auto workers first walked off the job, UAW President Shawn Fain said the union will be ready to call for an expansion of its strike against Big Three automakers at any time.
The surprise move took down the largest and most profitable Ford plant in the world. The sprawling factory makes pricey heavy-duty F-Series pickup trucks and large Ford and Lincoln SUVs.
Third-generation UAW worker Eric Mullins can see what the union is fighting for, up close and personal, including the same pay as longer-tenured coworkers — and the same retirement his dad will have.
The move comes as the company is in the midst of national contract talks with the United Auto Workers union, which wants to represent workers at battery factories and win them top wages.
Historic as the UAW strikes may be, analysts say the actions are unlikely to impact car prices too much — for now. A new strike on parts distribution centers, however, could sting.
UAW workers at 38 GM and Stellantis faciilties across 20 states walked off their jobs, though Ford was not hit with new strikes. President Biden is set to attend a picket line next week.
General Motors had previously warned it would need to stop production at its Fairfax, Kansas, assembly plant, because it relied on parts that came from a Missouri plant that is currently on strike.
Driving the UAW's tough stance in negotiations with the Big Three automakers is the sense that the union is owed a long-overdue redressal for all the concessions workers made in 2007.
For the first time, the UAW is on strike against the Big 3 U.S. automakers at once. Workers at three plants have been called out so far, with more to follow Friday if there's no progress on a deal.
Autoworkers are on strike at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, an unprecedented move by the United Auto Workers union. Already, there are ripple effects.
There are several ways the unprecedented United Auto Workers strike could hit the economy, but it will depend on how long the strike lasts and how many plants are affected, among other factors.
Bold union demands, bolstered by a tight labor market and frustration throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, are paying off in some sectors with significant raises for workers.
Less than two hours before the strike deadline, United Auto Workers revealed the first wave of plants to be targeted if the union and the Big 3 automakers fail to reach a deal just before midnight.
As autoworkers' real wages fall, top executives at the Big Three carmakers continue to earn tens of millions of dollars each year — hundreds of times more than the median employee.
