Posted on 09/15/23
| News Source: GMA
A union representing nearly 150,000 autoworkers launched a strike early Friday morning against the Big 3 U.S. automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.
The United Auto Workers, or UAW, and the car manufacturers failed to reach a contract agreement before a deadline set by the union for Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Less than two hours before the deadline, UAW president Shawn Fain announced the plants where union members would strike if a tentative agreement wasn't reached in time. By midnight Friday, that amounted to approximately 12,700 union workers, including ones at GM in Wentzville, Missouri; Stellantis in Toledo, Ohio; and Ford’s Wayne, Michigan plant.
The union is doing what’s called a “stand-up” strike, where not all union members strike at once.
Shortly after the strike was announced, Fain sent a message to UAW’s email list.
“A few minutes ago, thousands of UAW members at Ford, GM, and Stellantis walked out, marking the beginning of the Stand Up Strike,” his note read.
"This fight is our generation’s defining moment. Not just at the Big Three, but across the entire working class,” he continued, adding, "We will stand up for ourselves. We will stand up for our families. We will stand up for our communities."