After failing to reach a new agreement during contract negotiations, the United Auto Workers began a historic strike late on Thursday, affecting all three Detroit automakers simultaneously.
After their labor contracts expired at 11:59 p.m., UAW staff at three assembly plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri went on strike. The "Stand Up Strike," as the union refers to it, targets particular plants owned by Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Stellantis, which produces the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Fiat brands.
If negotiations with the car corporations fail to result in new agreements, union leaders have stated that they will pick new target facilities to strike at in waves. The plan is to surprise the automakers and use the union's position to negotiate a better contract than what the Detroit manufacturers have so far offered.
Ford Michigan Assembly Plant (Final Assembly and Paint Only) in Wayne, Michigan, Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and General Motors Wentzville Assembly in Missouri are the first three plants targeted.
"This strategy will keep the companies guessing. It will give our national negotiators maximum leverage and flexibility in bargaining. And if we need to go all out, we will. Everything is on the table," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a late-night livestream to members on Facebook Live.
“No matter what, all of us need to keep organizing: Rallies, protests, red shirt days,” Fain said during the broadcast. “We must show the companies you are ready to join and stand up and fight on a moment’s notice.”
His remarks come as Detroit manufacturers are wrapping up a day of tense negotiations. Since the end of the summer, the UAW has been in separate yet concurrent negotiations with each of the three automakers.
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