UAW's Fain announces expanded strike, targets 38 GM, Stellantis distribution plants

UAW President Shawn Fain announced 38 new sites across the country that will be struck at noon Friday as an expansion against the union's one-week-old action against Detroit Three automakers.

Fain said the union has made good progress with Ford Motor Co. this week, but General Motors and Stellantis "will need some pushing."

For that reason, he said, "At noon eastern time today all parts distribution centers at GM and Stellantis will be on strike. We will be everywhere from California to Massachusetts and we will keep going and keep expanding the Stand Up Strike as necessary.”

Ford spared for now

Fain said the workers at 38 locations across nine states for both automakers will walk off the job. While there is still work to be done at Ford, it appears for now, the union is not expanding strike targets at the Dearborn-based automaker.

The UAW has been negotiating separately, yet simultaneously, with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis since mid-summer. The automakers have each made offers and counteroffers to the union, but no tentative agreement has been reached.

Fain declared a strike against the Detroit Three automakers one week ago as contract talks failed to secure new labor agreements before the current contract expired at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14. Fain announced the first wave of plants the union would strike as: Ford Michigan Assembly Plant (Final Assembly and Paint only) in Wayne where it builds the Bronco, Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio where it builds some Jeep vehicles and GM's Wentzville Assembly where GM makes its midsize Chevrolet and GMC pickups and cargo vans.

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Plants idle, workers laid off amid work stoppage

About 13,000 UAW members walked out on strike and since then there have been thousands of people in ancillary businesses such as parts suppliers and Detroit Three autoworkers at other facilities who have been laid off due to the halted production at the three striking plants

Earlier this week, he warned that a second wave of plants could face a strike if the automakers did not make "substantial progress" in talks by noon Friday.

Fain has said complained that the automakers have dragged their feet on making substantive offers since the union presented its list of "audacious" demands to them earlier this summer. He said GM and Stellantis only made serious offers after the union filed unfair labor charges against them with the National Labor Relations Board, which is currently investigating the allegations.

Watch UAW President Shawn Fain livestream update from Friday

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber