Autoworkers strike as wage and benefit negotiations fail

Members of the United Auto Workers union went on strike at midnight Thursday as their contracts expired with General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis. President Shawn Fain said Wednesday that companies have not met the union’s request for a 36 percent wage increase over four years. UAW members are also seeking higher pensions, a 32-hour work week, job security guarantees, cost-of-living raises, and ending the use of temporary workers. All three companies have agreed to wage increases of at least 15 percent but didn’t come to an agreement with the union.

What does an autoworker strike look like? Rather than a full work stoppage, the union has planned to target specific auto plants nationwide. Less than 13,000 of the union’s 145,000 members at the three manufacturers went on strike Friday. However, UAW organizing director Brian O. Shepherd said Thursday that a full walkout was still on the table.

Dig deeper: Read Timothy Lamer’s report in WORLD Magazine on a $30 million employee pension deal between UAW and GM.