(WXYZ) — United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain called on Ford's Chicago Assembly and the GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly to go on strike Friday.
Fain made the call to action during a 10 a.m. Facebook live.
It’s the latest move in the UAW’s “Stand Up Strike” strategy.
Fain said Stellantis made progress on key factors in negotiations moments before the union's Facebook live, so they will be spared from this round of strike targets.
“Our strategy is working,” said Fain.
The union said this now brings the number of strikers to around 25,000 UAW members.
"I’m just keeping an upbeat, positive attitude because what we’re doing, there have been some other strikes that have been questionable as a union but this one is historic and it’s so important because of how much profit they have made the past decade," said Dennis Goulding who joined picket lines shortly after noon.
Goulding says he has worked for GM for almost 29 years. He says in that time he went more than a decade without a raise.
"Inflation's gone up, really up and down, but this year it’s incredible and they’ve got to help us a little bit. We’re working a lot of hours, we do overtime for General Motors. We build a quality product. Our plant is top at least 5 in profiting for the company," said Goulding. "Mary Barra gets a 40% raise. Why can’t we get 30? And then get our COLA back and then maybe a little bit for our retirees."
Dozens of workers also gathered near Creyts Rd. and Millett Hwy. about a mile away from the plant. As horns blared, workers played the song "solidarity forever" into a bull horn.
"I don’t want to be on strike but I want the greed to stop and we need to stand up as the middle class," said Jennifer Snook whohas been working for GM for 15 years. "I was the first round of two tier so I got hired in as a two tier in 2008. I went from making $24 an hour as a temp to making $14.78 and they expect temps to come in here right now and make $16.67 in 2023. That doesn’t make any sense."
Workers say while they'd hoped to avoid a strike, they're willing to strike until they get a deal that's more in line with union demands.
"In 2009, 2008, 2007 we made massive concessions so that the company could stay afloat. They came to us in their time of need and we met what they wanted. We were told at the time that we would get those things back. We’ve never gotten any of it back," asid UAW local 602 president Mike Huerta. "We were here for 40 days in 2019 and if we have to we’ll do it again. I hope they understand that we’re not trying to stay out here. We’re trying to go back to work."
Later Friday afternoon Shawn Fain joined workers on the picket line near the GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant. Fain says while there has been progress with GM on things like COLA, there is still not enough retiree security or job security.
"There’s a lot of issues on the table we’re trying to resolve. Ending tiers is a huge one. All the different workers we have that are doing the same job on the line for different rates of pay. There’s no excuse for that," said Fain. "We’re going to be out here as long as we have to be. We don’t want to be out here. We want to be in the plant working, making our product and taking care of our workers."
Thursday, a source familiar with the negotiations said there had been a lot of activity in the past 24 to 48 hours with all three companies.
After being spared from the latest strike target announcement, Stellantis issued the following statement:
"Stellantis has been intensely working with the UAW to find solutions to the issues that are of most concern to our employees while ensuring the Company can remain competitive given the market’s fierce competition. We have made progress in our discussions, but gaps remain. We are committed to continue working through these issues in an expeditious manner to reach a fair and responsible agreement that gets everyone back to work as soon as possible."
In response to the UAW's third round of strikes, General Motors issued the following statement to its General Motors Manufacturing and CCA Team Members:
“We still have not received a comprehensive counteroffer from UAW leadership to our latest proposal made on September 21. Calling more strikes is just for the headlines, not real progress. The number of people negatively impacted by these strikes is growing and includes our customers who buy and love the products we build.
For our part, we continue to stand ready and willing to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement that benefits you and doesn’t let the non-union manufacturers win. Our current, record proposal that is on the table offers historic wage increases and job security while not jeopardizing our future. We’re here to reach an agreement so we can all get back to work, and that remains our 100% focus. Be safe."
Ford President and CEO Jim Farley shared an update on UAW negotiations on Friday after the union announced their third wave of strike targets.
According to Ford, a deal is primarily being held up over battery plants that aren’t expected to be up and running for another several years.
“If the UAW’s goal is a record contract, they have already achieved this,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley in a news release. “It is grossly irresponsible to escalate these strikes and hurt thousands of families.”
Ford says it made a historic offer on September 12, and that they are continuing to improve what they put on the table.
Last week, Fain added 38 locations across 20 states in all nine regions of the UAW to the “Stand Up Strike” list. Ford was spared from that target announcement as Fain cited real progress with the automaker at the time.
Those locations were:
Stellantis
- Marysville (MI)
- Centerline Packaging (MI)
- Centerline Warehouse (MI)
- Sherwood (MI)
- Warren Parts (MI)
- QEC (MI)
- Romulus (MI)
- Cleveland (OH)
- Milwaukee (WI)
- Minneapolis (MN)
- Denver (CO)
- Chicago (IL)
- Los Angeles (CA)
- Portland (OR)
- Atlanta (GA)
- Winchester (VA)
- Orlando (FL)
- Dallas (TX)
- Boston (MA)
- New York (NY)
General Motors
- Pontiac Redistribution (MI)
- Willow Run Redistribution (MI)
- Ypsilanti Processing Center (MI)
- Davidson Rd Processing Center (MI)
- Flint Processing Center (MI)
- Lansing Redistribution (MI)
- Cincinnati Parts Distribution (OH)
- Denver Parts Distribution (CO)
- Hudson Parts Distribution (WI)
- Chicago Parts Distribution (IL)
- Reno Parts Distribution Center (NV)
- Rancho Cucamonga Parts Distribution (CA)
- Fort Worth Parts Distribution (TX)
- Martinsburg Parts Distribution (WV)
- Jackson Parts Distribution (MS)
- Charlotte Parts Distribution (NC)
- Memphis AC Delco Parts Distribution (TN)
- Philadelphia Parts Distribution (PA)
The first targets that started the strike at midnight on Sept. 15 were:
- GM Wentzville Assembly, Local 2250 (Missouri)
- Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex, Local 12 (Ohio)
- Ford Michigan Assembly Plant, final assembly and paint only, Local 900 (Michigan)
Those plants make some of the automakers' best-selling vehicles, including the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler and Chevrolet Colorado.
The UAW wants double-digit pay increases, the end of the tiered wage system, better healthcare, a 32-hour work week and more.
Ahead of the initial strike deadline, the UAW had $825 million in its strike fund, enough to pay 150,000 UAW members $500 a week for 11 weeks.
The UAW also went on strike against GM in 2019 after failing to reach a tentative contract agreement. That strike lasted from Sept. 15 through Oct. 25 after an agreement was reached on Oct. 16 but ratified nine days later.
