The United Auto Workers union is reportedly planning to strike at more Big Three facilities starting on Friday, September 29 if “serious progress” isn’t made in labor negotiations. According to Reuters, UAW President Shawn Fain plans to announce new targets at 10 a.m. on Friday, and workers will then walk out of those sites at noon. The outlet adds that the UAW is expected to continue the walkouts currently underway until a new contract is ratified.
The UAW walkouts first started back on September 15 – the first simultaneous strikes at General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis ever. Then, on September 22nd, the union expanded its strikes against GM and Stellantis, but Ford was spared and only had to deal with just one plant being impacted. Right now, Reuters isn’t sure if Ford will be targeted in the latest round of strikes.
The outlet says the UAW and GM will be talking on Wednesday afternoon, but there isn’t any information on when the union will be meeting with Ford and Stellantis.
Reuters says that as of right now, the Big Three and the UAW still remain pretty far apart when it comes to issues like pay, retirement benefits, and time off. Fain and the UAW have been sticking to their ask of a 40 percent pay increase over four years. Meanwhile, the three automakers are somewhere in the 20 percent range. The union is also pushing for automakers to get rid of their two-tier wage system that hurts new hires.
On Tuesday, Joe Biden became the first sitting president to join a picket line when he met up with striking workers in Michigan. He supported their calls for a 40 percent pay raise and said they deserve a “lot more” than they are getting after helping save the Big Three during the 2008 financial crisis.
