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.
At the Detroit Three automakers, a historic strike is now in progress.
After failing to reach an agreement on a new contract by Thursday night's deadline of 11:59 p.m., the United Auto Workers union is striking against the Big Three automakers at once for the first time in history.
However, the almost 150,000 union employees who work for the three automakers won't all abruptly quit their jobs due to the UAW strike.
At GM's Wentzville, Missouri, Stellantis' Toledo, Ohio, and Ford's Wayne, Michigan, assembly facilities, UAW workers went on strike. Approximately 13,000 individuals went on strike, and the UAW warns that more might do so at any time.
By employing this tactic, the union may be able to extend the life of its strike fund and make it more difficult for the automakers to predict work stoppages. If every UAW member went on strike at once, the union would have enough money to provide 11 weeks' worth of strike compensation.
"We do deserve what we deserve"
In another change from its prior practices, the UAW has chosen to engage in simultaneous negotiations with all three manufacturers.
The UAW has previously chosen one carmaker to negotiate with, concentrating its efforts on that firm until it reached an agreement, and then exerted pressure on the other two Big Three members to roughly match that agreement.
Fain did not, however, rule out the possibility of all union employees at the Big Three automakers eventually walking off the job all at once.
At the Ford plant in Michigan, where there is a strike, Carrie Bellestri works on the assembly line. She has worked for Ford for 29 years and stated the news that a strike would be taking place at her facility surprised her.
"At first, I was a little afraid, but then reality set in. However, Bellestri noted that "we do get what we deserve. Despite working really hard every day, I am unable to provide for my family.
President Joe Biden said No one wanted a strike, but he respected the UAW's right to do so and recognized the members' complaints.
The automakers have increased manufacturing to boost their stocks, but due to the residual impacts of COVID-related interruptions, supplies at or on their way to dealers are lower than in previous decades.
The most recent UAW strike took place in 2019, lasting 40 days.
