United Auto Workers (UAW) members protesting in Michigan, US, and Ohio, US, have urged the UAW union leaders to continue the ongoing strike, holding to the union’s biggest demands on pay hikes and compensation, according to a news report published by Reuters on September 20.
The report stated that the UAW strike against the Detroit Three — General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor Co. — has entered its fifth day. Citing UAW, the report said that the labor union plans to expand its ongoing strike across more manufacturing plants of the Detroit Three in the US, if talks with the carmakers do not progress.
Significance: It is known that the UAW had launched a strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis last week, targeting one facility each. According to the news report, although the companies and the UAW representatives held lengthy negotiations on September 18, it brought little progress, sparking concerns among industry officials.
While the ongoing UAW strike involves about 12,700 workers across three manufacturing plants, experts estimate that in its second wave, the strike can be expanded to the next set of plants where profitable pickup trucks such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, the GM Chevy Silverado and the Stellantis Ram are produced.
So far, it is known that in response to the UAW demands, the carmakers have proposed a 20% raise over the next 4.5-year term of their proposed deals. The report pointed out that this is only half of what the UAW is demanding through 2027.
Further, the ongoing UAW strikes have brought production operations at plants in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri, US, to a halt, stopping the assembly of the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler and Chevrolet Colorado, alongside other popular models.
The report further mentioned that on September 15, Ford had furloughed 600 workers who are not on strike at the Michigan Bronco plant due to the impact of the work stoppage.
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