Latest on the UAW strike
- UAW President Shawn Fain says union leaders and the Big Three automakers will resume contract negotiations Saturday, more than 24 hours after the strike began.
- President Joe Biden expressed support for the workers while urging both sides to reach "a win-win" agreement."
- Union members walked out at three plants: a GM site in Wentzville, Missouri; a Stellantis center in Toledo, Ohio; and a Ford assembly location in Wayne, Michigan. The strike could expand to additional locations.
- Charts: How the UAW strike compares with other historical U.S. strikes
- Why Stellantis could face a longer strike than Ford or GM
The biggest union in the U.S. auto industry is officially on strike, and it could last a while.
The contract between the United Auto Workers union and Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis expired early Friday. While the two sides appeared to make some progress toward a new deal this week, they remained far apart on major issues including salary increases and benefits.
UAW members walked out at a GM site in Wentzville, Missouri; a Stellantis center in Toledo, Ohio; and a Ford assembly location in Wayne, Michigan. About 13,000 people struck, and the UAW says more may walk off the job at short notice.
That strategy could make it harder for the automakers to anticipate work stoppages and help the union’s strike fund last longer. If every UAW member struck immediately, the union would have enough funds to supply about 11 weeks of strike pay.
Late Friday afternoon, Ford said it laid off 600 employees at a part of the Wayne facility because there was no work for them because of the strike.
GM threatened to lay off 2,000 at a plant in Fairfax, Kansas, as a result of the Wentzville strike. It said it would be unable to provide those workers with supplemental unemployment benefits because of the expiration of the last contract with the UAW.
UAW President Shawn Fain said the union expects to be back at the bargaining table Saturday, and leaders from the automakers said Friday they were ready to negotiate.
President Joe Biden said that no one wanted a strike, but that he respected the UAW’s right to do so and understood members’ frustrations.
The automakers have been ramping up production to pad their inventories, but supplies at or en route to dealers are lower than in decades past because of lingering effects of Covid-related disruptions.
The last UAW strike was in 2019 and lasted 40 days.
What will happen to car prices?
GM, Ford and Stellantis have been running their factories around the clock to build up supplies on dealer lots. But that’s also putting more money into the pockets of UAW members and strengthening their financial cushions.
At the end of August, the three automakers collectively had enough vehicles to last for 70 days. After that, they would run short. Buyers who need vehicles would likely go to nonunion competitors, who would be able to charge them more.
Vehicles are already scarce when compared with the years before the pandemic, which touched off a global shortage of computer chips that hobbled auto factories.
Sam Fiorani, an analyst with AutoForecast Solutions, a consulting firm, said the automakers had roughly 1.96 million vehicles on hand at the end of July. Before the pandemic, that figure was as high as 4 million.
“A work stoppage of three weeks or more,” Fiorani said, “would quickly drain the excess supply, raising vehicle prices and pushing more sales to non-union brands.”
Fetterman to drive to factory and picket where his SUV was built
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, plans to walk the picket line in Wayne, Michigan, with striking auto workers, his office said today.
The senator plans to drive one of Detroit's hottest products, the retro-styled Ford Bronco, assembled by UAW workers, roughly 300 miles from Braddock, Pennsylvania, to Wayne, his office said in a statement.
Once there in the late morning, he plans to walk the line at the factory where his SUV was built, it said.
Earlier today, Fetterman suggested UAW workers were emblematic of the American way of life.
"The union way of life is sacred," he said in an earlier statement. "It’s what built this nation, it’s what built Pennsylvania, and it’s what built the middle class."
UAW's Fain: 'Can you hear us now?'
“Can you hear us now?” UAW president Fain asked manufacturers at a strike rally in downtown Detroit tonight.
He said the Big Three U.S. automakers have seen massive profits as workers' pay has stagnated or declined.
Fain's spreadsheet has the Big Three clearing more than $20 billion in profit in a recent six-month span and $250 billion in the last decade. The carmakers say they are facing historic pressure to make a costly transition to electric vehicles.
Fain complained that the companies could have rewarded workers who gave up concessions in the 2000s in order to save the Big Three from catastrophe, concessions never returned, even amid what the union says are record profits.
"Our workers have went backwards," Fain told the crowd. "All three of the Big Three have price-gauged American consumers, they’ve ripped off the American taxpayer and all three have nickel-and-dimed the American worker."
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib says auto workers are shaping history
Speaking at the downtown Detroit rally for striking autoworkers, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., this afternoon tried to frame the dispute in historic terms, comparing autoworkers to civil rights demonstrators.
"This is where every corner is a reminder of us fighting for civil rights," she said.
Tlaib argued that evolutionary change doesn't happen in the United States until it comes from a true groundswell — "when the streets demand it, when you all uprise and make sure you are respected and valued."
She acknowledged automakers' big profits, but said, "They don’t have all the power. We do."
Bernie Sanders to CEOs: 'It is time for you to end your greed'
Sen. Bernie Sanders addressed autoworkers at a downtown Detroit rally this afternoon, calling on working people across the U.S. to stand in solidarity with the walkout.
Sanders called out automaker CEOs, all of whom made over $20 million last year, about their pay.
“It is time for you to end your greed,” Sanders said. “It is time for you to treat your employees with the respect and dignity they deserve. It is time to sit down and negotiate a fair contract.”
The independent senator from Vermont has promoted the strikes as a pivotal moment in a broader campaign to raise living standards for working people across the U.S.
“Let us stand together to end corporate greed, let us stand together to rebuild the disappearing middle class, let us create an economy that works for all, not just the one percent,” Sanders said.
“Let us all, every American, in every state in this country stand with the UAW,” the senator said.
Man allegedly sent threatening texts to union chief
A Michigan man was facing charges of making felony threats to the UAW president ahead of the union's strike against automakers.
Zachary David White, 31, is accused of making a terroristic threat and threatening to use a bomb or other harmful device, prosecutors in Genesee County, Michigan, said today.
It wasn't clear if White, from Davison Township, had an attorney, and the area public defender's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Early Wednesday, he texted Fain as the UAW marched toward a strike, the Office of the Genesee County Prosecutor said in a statement.
The exact wording of the alleged threats wasn't revealed in the statement, and a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
“I am not going to second guess Mr. White’s intentions," Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said in the statement.
The county is home to the city of Flint, "birthplace of General Motors," the automaker says.
Biden sending teams to Detroit
GM says plant with 2,000 workers could be idled in days
General Motors says it expects to stop work at its Fairfax Assembly and Stamping plant in Kansas "as soon as early next week" because workers at another GM facility went on strike Friday.
That strike began after the previous contract between United Auto Workers members and GM, Ford and Stellantis expired at midnight. Workers at GM's facility Wentzville, Missouri, struck at that time.
GM says the end of that contract means it can't provide supplemental unemployment benefits to employees of the Fairfax plant.
Ford says 600 employees are being laid off after strike begins
Ford says it told 600 employees not to report to work Friday after the United Auto Workers union went on strike.
UAW members at three manufacturing plants walked off the job after their contract with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis expired at midnight. One of those three plants was a Ford facility in Wayne, Michigan.
"The strike at Michigan Assembly Plant’s final assembly and paint departments has directly impacted the operations in other parts of the facility. Approximately 600 employees at Michigan Assembly Plant’s body construction department and south sub-assembly area of integrated stamping were notified not to report to work Sept. 15," the company said.
Ford says it isn't locking out workers. It says the laid off employees can't do their work because the paint department is on strike.
Statement from UAW President Shawn Fain after strike begins
UAW President Shawn Fain released a press statement at 2:30 p.m. ET today after the union went on strike against all the Big Three U.S. automakers for the first time in its history. The strike began at midnight after the union's previous contract with the Big Three expired. Workers walked off the job at plants belonging to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler's maker, Stellantis.
Fain said in part:
“Last night we launched a historic strike at three major Big Three facilities after Ford, GM, and Stellantis each failed to offer a fair contract to our 150,000 autoworkers.
For six weeks, the companies have had our economic demands. For six weeks, they chose not to get down to business. They squandered the time we had, and once again want to blame the workers for their mistakes and mismanagement.
We agree with Joe Biden when he says “record profits mean record contracts.” We don’t agree when he says negotiations have broken down. Our national elected negotiators and UAW leadership are hard at work at the bargaining table. Our members and allies are standing strong at the picket lines. Anyone who wants to stand with us can grab a sign and hold the line."
Fain said UAW leaders expect to be back at the negotiating table tomorrow, adding: "All three companies have received a comprehensive counteroffer from our union, and we await their response."