Detroit Evening Report: Expanded UAW strike includes 13 Stellantis and GM locations in Michigan
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UAW President Shawn Fain walks the picket lines outside the Mopar plant in Center Line, Mich on Sept. 22, 2023.
One week after the United Auto Workers started its strike against the Detroit automakers, the union has extended the walk out to 38 locations across 20 states.
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UAW President Shawn Fain announced Friday morning that negotiations with General Motors and Stellantis were not going well enough. Workers at parts distribution centers owned by the two companies walked off the job at noon.
“We will shut down parts distribution until those two companies come to their senses and come to the table with a serious offer,” stated Fain.
Fain says negotiations with Ford are going better, which is why none of their facilities have been targeted in the expanded strikes. The union and Ford have agreed on income security for workers after job losses and the right to strike over plant closures. Ford’s Michigna Assembly Plant in Wayne will remain on strike as the two sides continue talks.
The new strike locations include six GM processing and redistribution centers in Michigan: Pontiac, Belleville, Ypsilanti, Lansing and two Flint area plants.
Seven Stellantis facilities in the state walked out today: two in Warren, two in Center Line, and one each in Auburn Hills, Romulus and Marysville.
LaShawn English, UAW Region 1 Director, says members have been waiting for this show of solidarity.
“The membership has really been ready. They’re ready for to get what’s due to them,” English told WDET. “I can say in the past it can be more of a somber mood, but I think our membership is more engaged than they ever have been.”
WDET reporters Russ McNamara and Quinn Klinefelter contributed to this story.
Editor’s note: Some employees of WDET are members of UAW Local 1979 — a different bargaining group that’s unaffected by these negotiations.
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