STREETSBORO, Ohio — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced on Friday that the union expanding its strike against U.S. automakers.
During a Facebook Live stream, Fain announced that 38 more General Motors and Stellantis parts and distribution facilities are being ordered to strike at noon. The locations span across 20 states and include Stellantis in Streetsboro, which includes 100 workers. Overall, 2,150 Stellantis employees are going to strike and 3,475 GM employees are striking.
In Portage County, Stellantis worker Rudy Murray told 3News he has been at the facility for 24 years dating back to its sole ownership under Chrysler, and that today's walkout was emotional.
"I actually love what I do," Murray admitted. "I don't even like to take days off, to be honest. This is the first job I've had where I really love what I do, and right now, I wish I was in there doing what I do."
However, he was also proud to stand with his fellow union members.
"You can't get where you are without us," he declared. "A lot of them don't even know what we do. They have no clue what we do, and to come in here and bust our butts eight hours, 10 hours, sometimes 12 hours with the pride and morale that we have for the company, we just want our fair share."
During the strike, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown met with those picketing in Streetsboro.
"Today Ohioans are standing in solidarity with autoworkers around our state as they demand the Big 3 automakers respect the work they do to make these companies successful. Any union family knows that a strike is always a last resort – autoworkers want to be on the job, not on the picket line. UAW workers made sacrifices to save the American auto industry," the Democratic lawmaker said in a statement beforehand. "Now the Big 3 are making record profits – all workers are asking for is their fair share. The companies need to bargain in good faith and agree to a fair contract that honors the Dignity of Work."
The announcement came after the United Auto Workers union decided to escalate its strike over a demand for higher wages, a shorter work week and other benefits. Before Friday's announcement, the strike was limited to three plants - one each at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Fain mentioned that the expended strike targets GM and Stellantis because negotiations have made progress at Ford this week.
The union is pointing to the companies’ huge recent profits as it seeks wage increases of 36% over four years. The companies have offered a little over half that amount. The UAW has other demands, including a 32-hour work week for 40 hours of pay and a restoration of traditional pension plans for newer workers.
Stellantis employee Teresa Peterson says this strike has been brewing for years.
"This isn’t just about a contract," she said. "Since 2009, UAW has taken many, many, many concessions when they had the bail out for the Big Three to help them achieve and get over the hump, and now they've got record profits for record years, and they’re not giving back any of the concessions that have been given up."
The companies 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.
The UAW’s contract with the automakers expired at midnight on Sept. 14, and workers walked out of a Ford assembly plant near Detroit, a GM factory in Wentzville, Missouri, and a Jeep plant run by Stellantis in Toledo, Ohio. The initial strike has involved about 13,000 of the union’s 146,000 members.
Stellantis released the following statement regarding the strike:
"Following yesterday’s publication of comments made by the UAW’s Communications Director and the subsequent strike announcement, we question whether the union’s leadership has ever had an interest in reaching an agreement in a timely manner. They seem more concerned about pursuing their own political agendas than negotiating in the best interests of our employees and the sustainability of our U.S. operations given the market’s fierce competition.
"The fact is, we made a very competitive offer yesterday that includes all our current full-time hourly employees earning between $80,000 and $96,000 a year by the end of the contract (a 21.4% compounded increase); a long-term solution for Belvidere; and, significant product allocation that allows for workforce stability through the end of the contract. And yet, we still have not received a response to that offer. We look forward to the UAW leadership’s productive engagement so that we can bargain in good faith to reach an agreement that will protect the competitiveness of our Company and our ability to continue providing good jobs."
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