The United Auto Workers is gearing up to escalate its strike against the Big Three automakers today, as the union fights hard to make up for years of stagnant wages and other concessions from its members.
UAW President Shawn Fain is expected to announce at 10 a.m. ET which plants will join the group of workers who were the first to walk off the job last week, when the union’s contracts with the automakers expired.
Roughly 13,000 workers at three Midwest auto plants — a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Mo., a Stellantis assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio, and part of a Ford plant in Wayne, Mich. — are currently on the picket line.
“If we don’t make serious progress by noon on Friday, September 22nd, more locals will be called on to stand up and join the strike,” Fain announced in a video posted to Facebook Monday night, while not revealing which plants or how many would be called on next.
Fain’s so-called “stand up” strike strategy is intended to keep Ford, General Motors and Stellantis on their toes with sudden, targeted strikes at strategic locations, rather than having all of the nearly 150,000 UAW auto workers walk off their jobs at once.