The strike at three major car manufacturers in the United States It has already affected more than 40,000 workers after the addition of Stellantis main factory. The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has announced that 6,800 workers at the Stellantis plant in Michigan have joined the strike they have held at 44 other workplaces of the same company, General Motors (GM) and Ford since September 15. .
Today’s strikes involve employees responsible for assembling Stellantis’ best-selling truck, the RAM-500 model, as the UAW explained in a statement. Stellantis has, according to the UAW, the “highest revenue and profit margins,” but is “behind Ford and General Motors” in its workers’ demands for “more wages, compensation for temporary workers , and full-time conversion.” “.
The move comes just days after UAW President Shawn Fain detailed the automakers’ current proposals, highlighting the shortcomings of Stellantis’ offer. The union leader then criticized a speech given Monday by Ford CEO Bill Ford, in which the great-grandson of the company’s founder warned that the UAW’s demands could lead to plant closures and threaten the safety of the auto industry.
Strike since September 15
“(Bill Ford) says if workers are going to get their share of economic justice he’s going to have to close plants like Rouge (Ford’s electric vehicle production center),” Fain said. The union member acknowledged that the three companies have made proposals that improve economic and working conditions to a level never before achieved, but added that the reason is that “the bar is very low” and that the companies still have money to continue improving their offerings.
The strike began on September 15 with a walkout at three assembly plants in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. It has since grown to seven assembly plants and 38 parts distribution centers in 22 states. On October 11, the UAW began a new phase of the strike by launching surprise walkouts at the Ford truck plant in Kentucky, where 8,700 UAW members walked off the job without notice.
