INDIANA – If a contract is not reached with the Big Three by noon on Friday, September 22 more UAW workers will stand up and hit the picket lines.
The UAW launched a strike against Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler parent Stellantis, last week, targeting one U.S. assembly plant at each company.
It is not clear when official negotiations between the two sides would resume after lengthy talks on Monday brought little progress, prompting concerns among some auto executives and congressional aides that a deal will not be struck before the Friday noon deadline.
UAW Local 440 members at GM Bedford Casting Operations are still working but without a contract but are ready to hit the picket lines. They will hold a Solidarity Rally on Sunday, September 24th at Harp Commons in Bedford from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. There will be food, speakers, and solidarity.
The US strike is now on its sixth day with some 12,700 of the UAW’s 150,000 total members who work at the Big Three on strike.
Autoworkers walked off their jobs across three Midwest plants at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, staging the first UAW strike in history to target simultaneously three big automakers who have a sizable foothold in Detroit. Workers sought a 40% pay raise (or 46%, depending on how you do the math), a shorter workweek, the elimination of a multitiered wage system, and the restoration of a 1980s-style pension plan, among other demands.
Analysts expect plants that build more profitable pickup trucks like Ford’s F-150, GM’s Chevy Silverado, and Stellantis’ Ram would be the next targets if the walkout continues.
If the strike drags on, consumers could see a shortage of vehicles within several weeks, raising already-high prices at a time when car buyers are paying more to borrow.
The union representing Canadian autoworkers at Ford has reached a tentative deal with the US automaker, keeping more than 5,000 union members on the job and providing some good news for an industry dealing with unprecedented labor disruptions.
Details of the deal between Ford and Unifor, the Canadian union, were not immediately available.
