In a surprise announcement, the UAW escalades its “Stand Up Strike” once more.
On Monday, the United Auto Workers union announced that 6,800 workers at Stellantis’ Sterling Heights Assembly Plant would join the picket line. The move shuts down one of the automaker’s most lucrative plants building one of its most profitable models: the Ram 1500 pickup.
According to UAW president Shawn Fain, Stellantis has fallen short of the other Big Three automakers at the negotiation table, as both sides remain at an impasse and the strike extends into its sixth week. “The unannounced walkout at SHAP brings the total number of UAW members on strike at the Big three automakers to over 40,000,” the union said in its statement. “Stellantis lags behind both Ford and General Motors in addressing the demands of their UAW workforce. Currently, Stellantis has the worst proposal on the table regarding wage progression, temporary worker pay and conversion to full-time, cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), and more.”
Among the union’s demands are a 40% wage increase over a four-year period, restoration of pension benefits, COLA, the elimination of a multi-tier compensation system that inhibits recent hires from quickly reaching higher pay levels. As of October 23, UAW members are striking seven assembly plants and 38 parts distribution centers across 22 states.
Just over a week ago, workers elected to strike Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, one of the Blue Oval’s biggest revenue generators that builds Super Duty trucks as well as the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.
How will this impact Stellantis’ plans moving forward?
Last Friday, Stellantis announced it would pull out of its exhibitions at SEMA in Las Vegas next week and the LA Auto Show in November due to the ongoing strike. As the union strikes more factories and threatens to expand their labor actions to more plants at any point, we’ll have to wait and see how the company curtails or cancels its other upcoming plans.
“Time is on our side, the American public is on our side, and the facts are on our side,” Fain said as he addressed today’s strike against the Sterling Heights plant.
At time of writing, Stellantis has not released a statement concerning today’s walkout. However, we will update this post if and when more information is available.
