The United Auto Workers expanded its strike to include two more facilities and an additional 7,000 workers, UAW President Shawn Fain said during a Facebook Live event Friday morning.
Workers from Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and General Motor’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly factory went on strike at noon as negotiations failed to yield a tentative agreement. Fain clarified that GM’s Lansing Regional Stamping plant, located alongside Lansing Delta Township Assembly, will continue working.
“Despite our willingness to bargain, Ford and GM have refused to make meaningful progress at the table,” Fain said.
The expansion of the strike will not impact additional Stellantis factories, which Fain said made concessions “mere moments” ahead of the scheduled 10 a.m. event that was delayed 30 minutes for continued negotiations.
Stellantis made concessions regarding the 2009 cost of living allowance, the right not to cross picket lines, the right to strike over product commitments and plant closures, and outsourcing moratoriums, Fain said.
“To be clear, negotiations haven’t broken down. We are still talking to all three companies. And I’m still very hopeful that we can reach a deal that reflects the incredible sacrifices and contributions our members have made over the last decade,” Fain said.
Before the latest strike was announced, the UAW had more than 18,000 members on strike at 41 facilities in 21 states.
“A union that is not is not prepared to strike to win is like a fighter with one hand tied behind his back,” Fain said. He later continued, “To restore the balance of power, we have to restore the strike. That’s what every one of our striking members is doing.”
