The United Auto Workers union expanded its strike against the automaker Stellantis, calling on 6,800 workers at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant outside Detroit to walk out Monday morning.
Five weeks into the autoworkers' strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the automakers have significantly increased their offers but UAW leader Shawn Fain says there's still room to move.
At its peak, the United Auto Workers union had 1.5 million members. Today, the "A" in UAW might as well include academia, as roughly 100,000 of the union's 383,000 members work in higher education.
Retirement security remains a sticking point in the ongoing talks between the United Auto Workers union and the Big 3 automakers. The union wants to see a return of pensions and retiree health care.
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.
The union's strike against the Detroit Three continues, but the UAW's president says that GM has now committed for future battery plant workers to be covered by the same contract as other workers.
The United Auto Workers' targeted strike against the Big Three automakers is about gradually ramping up pressure on the automakers while also stretching out the union's strike fund.
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.
He was the lead adviser for the Obama administration when the government bailed out auto companies in 2009. Now, he is weighing in on the union strikes against the big 3 American automakers.
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.