The UAW strike is growing. What you need to know as more auto workers join the union's walkouts
The United Auto Workers’ strike is getting bigger
NEW YORK — The United Auto Workers' strike is getting bigger. One week into the union's historic work stoppages against major car makers, the UAW on Friday walked out of dozens of more factories across 20 states.
The UAW's targeted strikes against General Motors, Stellantis and Ford began after the union's contract with the companies expired at midnight on Sept. 14. At the time, 13,000 workers walked out of three assembly plants — and union leadership warned that more locations could be impacted there wasn't significant progress in contract negotiations.
Bargaining continued Thursday, although neither side reported any breakthroughs, and on Friday the UAW announced it would be walking out of 38 more General Motors and Stellantis parts distribution centers. Another 5,600 workers joined the strike — meaning that about 13% of the union's 146,000 members are now on the picket lines.
Ford was spared additional strikes Friday because the company has met some of the union’s demands during negotiations over the past week, UAW President Shawn Fain said.
The UAW is seeking big raises and better benefits — pointing to CEO pay raises and profits that the three companies have raked in recent years. They also want to get back concessions that the workers made years ago.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Three say they can’t afford to meet the union’s demands because they need to invest profits in a costly transition from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles. In the last week, tensions rose as the companies laid off a thousands of workers, saying some factories are running short on parts because of the strike.
On the consumer side, with no immediate end in sight, the strike could also cause
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