UAW Strike Expands to 40,000 as 6,800 Workers at Ford Truck Factory Walk Out

The historic strike by American automobile workers has continued to expand its ranks after more than a month on the picket line, with 6,800 Stellantis employees at a pickup truck factory halting operations on Monday.

The latest factory to join the strike was Stellantis’ Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Detroit, Michigan, which makes Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks, one of the company’s most profitable and high-profile vehicles.

The new walkout comes after UAW President Shawn Fain accused Stellantis of continuing to offer insulting terms during contract negotiations. Fain said in a Friday statement that the auto giant "is trying to lowball and undercut us,” proposing cuts to workers’ medical coverage and 401(k) contributions, and the right to make new demands before the contract expires.

In response, Stellantis issued a statement saying it was “outraged” at the Sterling Heights walkout, as it believed contract talks had been progressing.

"Last Thursday morning, Stellantis presented a new, improved offer to the UAW, including 23% wage increases over the life of the contract, nearly a 50% increase in our contributions to the retirement savings plan, and additional job security protections for our employees," Stellantis said in the statement, adding that the UAW had not made a counter-offer since then.

In his Friday comments, Fain said there was “more to be won” than the 23% wage increase, but also signaled he thought a deal might be close. The union opened bargaining with a 40% wage hike demand, as well as restoration of a slew of other benefits the union had agreed to allow to be cut when two of the “Big Three” automakers - General Motors and Chrysler, the latter of which is now part of Stellantis - required federal government bailouts in 2009.

In all, some 40,000 UAW workers are on strike from Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors - just a fraction of the 143,000 UAW members whose contracts are at stake. When the workers first walked out in protest in mid-September, their ranks were just 18,000 strong.

The Sterling Heights strike comes less than two weeks after another walkout by 8,700 workers at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, which makes F-series trucks, the best-selling pickups in the United States. The workers at both plants have implemented a new tactic for the union dubbed a “stand-up strike,” in which the union gives the workers as little as two hours’ notice before sending them on strike, which amplifies the damaging effects on the targeted company by denying them time to prepare for the interruption.

Stocks in GM and Ford slid on Monday, having fallen about 23% (Ford) and 27% (GM) since the strike began. Stellantis’ stocks have increased slightly since the strike began.

In addition, the “Big Three” have together laid off about 5,000 workers, saying the strikes had made the firings necessary because the workers have no work to do. However, the UAW has characterized it as a pressure tactic against the workers.