UAW strike expands in Michigan
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Members of the UAW picket outside the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne last week. Photo: Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images
About 2,000 General Motors workers in Lansing joined the United Auto Workers' strike last Friday as the union continues to expand its historic work stoppage.
Driving the news: UAW President Shawn Fain announced the decision after saying ongoing contract negotiations didn't result in meaningful progress with GM and Ford last week.
- Fain announced two additional strike locations: GM's Lansing factory — which makes the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse — and a Ford factory in Chicago, affecting 7,000 workers overall.
- The union did not expand its strike against Stellantis, saying the company that makes Jeep and Ram vehicles had made a substantial offer to the union, showing good progress toward a deal.
Why it matters: The addition of another in-state auto plant to the strike means that economic ripple effects, such as increased unemployment, will continue to play out here.
What they're saying: "Calling more strikes is just for the headlines, not real progress," a GM executive wrote to employees in Lansing, the Free Press reports.
- "The number of people negatively impacted by these strikes is growing and includes our customers who buy and love the products we build."
Yes, but: The damage to the automakers is "relatively contained" because the plants that joined the strike make midsize SUVs — not highly profitable pickups and large SUVs, per the Freep.
Catch up quick: It's been two weeks since the UAW launched its unprecedented strike.
- It initially targeted one assembly plant from each of the automakers.
- Last week, the union expanded the strike to target 38 parts distribution centers operated by GM and Stellantis, including several in southeast Michigan. Fain said at the time that the union had made progress in talks with Ford, so the UAW was holding off on expanding the strike at its facilities.
- But the additional walkouts Fain announced Friday mean that 25,000 workers, or 17% of UAW members at the Big Three, are now on strike.
State of play: The UAW is asking for a 36% pay increase and a return to traditional pensions and retiree health care.
- Company leaders at GM and Stellantis have grown frustrated with what they see as a lack of participation from Fain and delays in receiving counterproposals from the UAW, CNBC reported.
- Last week, President Biden joined striking UAW workers on the picket line in Belleville and expressed his support for their cause.