UAW announces new strikes at GM and Ford plants, sparing Stellantis

DETROIT – United Auto Workers to expand strike General Motors and Ford UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday that the plant will head to two assembly plants in the Midwest at noon ET.

Additional strikes will target Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant in Illinois, which makes the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs, and GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant in central Michigan, which makes the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse crossovers. car.

fein says chrysler parents star The company has avoided further strikes due to recent progress in negotiations with the company, particularly around the right to strike over issues such as factory closures and cost-of-living adjustments.

“We are excited about this momentum with Stellantis and hope it will continue,” Fein said.

The additional strike comes a week after a similar strike expanded. The UAW initially initiated shutdowns on Sept. 15 at three assembly plants — one at each of the Detroit automakers’ plants. Last week, the union targeted an additional 38 parts and distribution locations operated by General Motors and Stellantis. At the time, the United Auto Workers union exempted Ford from expanding the strike, citing progress in negotiations.

Fain said about 7,000 autoworkers would join the latest wave of work stoppages, joining about 18,300 workers currently on strike for their unions.

“To restore the balance of power, we must resume the strike,” Finn Friday saidciting several other UAW strikes outside of Detroit automakers.

Fein said Friday’s announcement was delayed by nearly 30 minutes because the union had received “strong interest” from automakers.

Fein previously said the union would increase the number of work stoppages based on progress in contract negotiations. The negotiations sparked dissatisfaction and accusations from both sides of the bargaining table.

GM and Stellantis in particular have become increasingly frustrated with Fain’s lack of involvement and what they say are delays in receiving counterproposals from the union, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

Unlike past strikes, UAW leaders have chosen to conduct targeted strikes at select plants rather than launch a nationwide strike. It called the stoppage a “stand-up strike,” a nod to the UAW’s historic “sit-down” strikes in the 1930s.

The strategy is to keep automakers on edge and pit them against each other for better contracts, according to private messages leaked last week involving the UAW communications director.

The messages, which described a strategy that caused “repeated reputational damage and operational disruption” to the companies, were harshly criticized by the automakers.

This is a development story. Please check back for more details.