The United Auto Workers union expanded strikes against Detroit automakers Friday, ordering 7,000 more workers to walk off the job in Illinois and Michigan to put more pressure on the companies to improve their offers.
It was the second time the union has widened the walkouts, which started two weeks ago at three assembly plants before the most recent addition of a Ford plant in Chicago and a General Motors factory near Lansing.
The GM plant in Delta Township, near Lansing, makes large crossover SUVs such as the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. A nearby metal parts stamping plant will remain open, Fain said. Raneal Edwards, a longtime GM employee who works at the Lansing-area factory, said she was “shocked but happy” to hear that her plant would join the strike.
Automakers have long said they are willing to give raises, but they fear that a costly contract will make their vehicles more expensive than those built at nonunion U.S. plants run by foreign corporations. Fain later accused Farley of lying and said the union gave Ford a counteroffer Monday but has not heard back. He stressed that there is no impasse, although they’re far apart on economic issues such as defined-benefit pensions for all workers and health insurance for retirees.
Ives wrote in a note to investors that President Joe Biden’s administration is watching union demands collide with his push for cleaner electric vehicles. Biden, who has billed himself as the most union-friendly president in history, traveled Tuesday to the Detroit area to walk picket lines with workers at a GM parts warehouse.
Other industry officials, including GM CEO Mary Barra, say there will be enough jobs for all as the industry moves away from gasoline vehicles.
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