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Bargaining continues between UAW & Big 3 as strike enters day 4

Posted at 5:42 AM, Sep 18, 2023
and last updated 2023-09-18 14:50:46-04

(WXYZ) — It's back to the bargaining table on Monday for the United Auto Workers union as they enter day four of the strike against the Detroit Big Three automakers.

LIVE BLOG: The latest on the UAW, Big Three negotiations

Union workers went on strike at three plants Friday at midnight after the union failed to reach a contract with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

The union is demanding better pay and healthcare, a 32-hour work week, the restoration of traditional pensions, cost-of-living adjustments and more.

Picket lines are up at three plants – one each in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri – and there appears to be no sign of reaching a deal anytime soon.

UAW workers officially go on strike at Ford Michigan Assembly Plant

At the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, there's plenty of camaraderie between the workers picketing.

However, they are the only plant in Michigan on strike as part of UAW President Shawn Fain's "Stand Up Strike" strategy, which could call for more plants to picket as negotiations continue.

Over the weekend, workers from different factories around Michigan and other states have joined the picket line to show support for their fellow union workers.

While the union and the automakers continue to meet, there have been no signs of a breakthrough.

"I hope we get something good. They said it wouldn't go on for long. I hope it doesn't," one worker told us.

UAW strike: Which Big 3 plants could be targeted next by union

Many politicians from Washington D.C. have also come to Detroit to show solidarity and join the picket line with union members, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. John Fetterman and House Minor Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

"The cause is just lifting up the great American middle-class dream for these workers and future generations of workers is a critical fight and it will also raise the bar for workers all across America," Jeffries said.

For workers at other plants like Tracy Smith, who works at the Ford Rawsonville plant, she says the Big Three need to meet the union's demands for its workers

"The new generation of workers aren't making a fair wage. They can barely make it. They deserve a living wage and they need to be brought up to what we make," she said.