Luis Feliz Leon

Today 6,800 Auto Workers (UAW) struck the most profitable Stellantis plant in the world.

At 10 a.m. workers streamed out of the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP), near Detroit, where they build the Ram 1500 pickup.

“It’s just real now,” said Crystal Pasarcik, the sergeant-at-arms at Local 1700, which represents the plant.

Auto Workers Halt Stellantis’s Biggest Moneymaker

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A Black man in sunglasses with an exuberant expression exits a factory turnstile with his right arm raised.

It’s Working: Auto Workers’ Strike Strategy Is Forcing the Big 3 to Pony Up

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Luis Feliz Leon

The Auto Workers (UAW) have thrown the Big 3 on the back foot.

For the first time in recent history, the union is playing the automakers against each other—departing from its tradition of choosing one target company and patterning an agreement at the other two.

And its gradually escalating Stand-Up Strike strategy has multiplied the pressure that can move the companies off the dime.

Every Friday for four weeks, the CEOs waited with bated breath for UAW President Shawn Fain to announce strike targets.

On Facebook Live Friday afternoon, Auto Workers President Shawn Fain symbolically awarded roses to automakers General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford based on progress at the negotiating table, a reference to the reality show “The Bachelor.” The only thing missing was teary-eyed CEOs breathing a sigh of relief as the UAW agreed not to widen its strike to more factories for now.

Auto Workers Spare Big 3, Win Landmark Just Transition at General Motors

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Three women smile at the camera with UAW on Strike signs.

Seven thousand Auto Workers at two more assembly plants will walk off the job at noon ET today, UAW President Shawn Fain announced in a Facebook Live appearance this morning. Joining the strike are Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and General Motors’ Lansing Delta Township Assembly in Michigan.

Twenty-Five Thousand Auto Workers Are Now on Strike at the Big 3

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UAW members and supporters at a rally. Many hold signs saying UAW on Strike. Several have their children on their shoulders.

Auto workers at the Big 3 expanded their strike last Friday to a key vulnerability: parts distribution centers that supply dealerships with everything from water pumps to brake drums and spark plugs to replacement bumpers.

On Tuesday morning, General Motors began bringing in temps hired for $14 an hour to attempt to keep some of the parts and accessories flowing.

Scabs Deployed at GM Parts Distribution Centers

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Six smiling workers carrying "UAW On Strike" picket signs raise their fists in the air outside a GM CCA facility. The workers are a mix of Black and white, men and women. Some of the picket signs are wrapped in plastic bags, and one worker carries an open umbrella.

The clock has ticked and tocked for two of the Big 3 automakers. At noon 5,000 more members of the Auto Workers (UAW) at 38 parts distribution centers for Stellantis and General Motors walked off the job. The facilities are spread across 20 states.

Auto Workers Strike Spreads to 38 Parts Depots

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Auto workers march with signs that say “Stellantis Bargining in bad faith” One man is carrying a four-year old child.

The strike is on. Last night the Auto Workers (UAW) shut down three major assembly plants at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler). It’s the first time in history the union has struck all three companies at once.

‘No Justice, No Jeeps!’ Scenes from the Auto Workers Strike

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Workers hold signs at night--they are backlit by traffic and street lights but one sign is legible, saying ‘everyone tier one.’

Tick, tock. At midnight the clock ran out, and auto workers massed on picket lines.

The first-ever simultaneous strike at the Big 3 automakers—General Motors, Ford, Stellantis—started September 15 with 13,000 workers walking out of three assembly plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri. There are 146,000 Auto Workers (UAW) members at the Big 3.

The UAW is calling its strategy the “stand-up strike,” a nod to the Flint sit-down strike of 1936-1937 that helped establish the union.

Auto Workers Strike Plants at All Three of the Big 3

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A group of smiling workers leave through factory turnstiles, walking towards the camera.

Two days before their contract expires at midnight Thursday, the Auto Workers (UAW) are poised to strike the Big 3 automakers—General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis—to recoup concessions made over the past two decades, end tiers, boost wages, and fight for a shorter workweek and other quality-of-life demands.

‘The Cost of Doing Nothing Is Much Higher’: Big Three Auto Workers Prepare to Strike

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A group of five auto workers pose in their union hall with blue signs that say "End Tiers," "Every Auto Job a Good Job," and "United for a Strong Contract."

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