BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The United Auto Workers has failed to reach a new contract agreement with the Big Three automakers, leading union members to go on strike at three plants nationwide.
During a live-streamed announcement late Thursday evening, union leaders laid out the details of a 'strategic strike' at a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio. It was the first time in the union’s 88-year history that it walked out on all three companies simultaneously.
None of the more than 3,000 Ford or GM workers in Western New York are part of the strike at this time.
Union president Shawn Fain announced just after 10 p.m. Thursday union members in Wentzville, Missouri, Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit would strike at midnight against all three of the Big Three automakers if a deal is not reached.
The UAW's current contract expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. According to previous reports by the Associated Press, the union is demanding a 36% boost in pay over four years, and the automakers, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — formerly Fiat Chrysler — countered with offers that are roughly half of that increase. Ford and GM have both offered a 20% increase, and GM is offering 10% in the first year. Stellantis' last known offer was 17.5%, but the company has since made another offer.
Fain told the AP even though the automakers initially raised their offers, they rejected other union demands. He said that the counteroffers were not good enough.
“To win we’re likely going to have to take action," he previously said. "We are preparing to strike these companies in a way they’ve never seen before.”
Fain said in a statement that the union is evaluating the GM offer and will respond.
GM CEO Mary Barra wrote in a letter to workers earlier Thursday, “We are working with urgency and have proposed yet another increasingly strong offer with the goal of reaching an agreement tonight.”
"Our membership is fired up and our membership is ready to go."
Ray Jensen, the assistant director, of UAW Region 9, told 7 News senior reporter Eileen Buckley earlier Thursday members in Western New York are all prepared to walk off the assembly line.
“The local leaders are standing by, and they are waiting for the call and if they get that call, they are going to have the membership ready,” he explained.
Nearly 3,500 people work at the three plants in Western New York that are owned by the Big Three: GM employs about 2,700 workers between its Lockport and Town of Tonawanda facilities, while Ford employs about 730 people at its stamping plant in Hamburg.
It's unclear how long the strike could last, but supply chain experts warn that a strike similar to the one in 2019 that lasted nearly 40 days would have drastically worse consequences, including a 30% decrease in vehicle production.
