Axios Detroit

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, Axios' Ivana Saric and Joann Muller report.

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.

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🎰 Another strike could be approaching — Detroit casino workers voted Friday to authorize a potential strike around when contracts expire in the middle of this month. (Metro Times)

⚾️ Miguel Cabrera played in the final game of his career over the weekend, but isn't leaving the Tigers any time soon. The organization announced last Friday that Cabrera's new role within the organization will be as a special assistant to the president of baseball operations. (Free Press)

🦁 Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams had his gambling suspension reduced by a game and is now eligible to return this week against the Panthers. (Free Press)

The percentage of Metro Detroit-area women who recently gave birth and are participating in the workforce is shrinking — bucking the national trend of a sharp increase since 2010.

Why it matters: Motherhood often knocks women out of the labor force, at least temporarily — potentially slowing careers and earnings growth while contributing to the gender pay gap.

By the numbers: 64.2% of Metro Detroit women who gave birth in the previous 12 months were participating in the labor force as of 2022, per new census data.

• That's compared with 63.6% in 2021 and 66.2% in 2010, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.

The big picture: Nationally, the percentage of women who recently gave birth and are participating in the workforce reached a decade-plus high-water mark last year — 66.6%.

• That's compared with 66.5% in 2021 and 61.6% in 2010.

Driving the news: Remote and flexible work is making it easier for new moms to juggle both parenting and their careers.

• In fact, the workplace gender gap is at a record low.

Between the lines: One complicating factor in all this: the skyrocketing cost of child care, which can complicate the decision for a parent to return to work.

• Often, it's mothers who wind up staying home — in part because they likely make less to begin with.

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