The United Automobile Workers union said late Thursday that its members were set to walk off the production lines in three plants in three states at midnight in what would be the first strike simultaneously affecting all three Detroit automakers.
The union and the companies — General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis, the parent of Chrysler — remained deadlocked in negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement with the current contract set to expire at 11:59 p.m. As the deadline neared, workers started to fan out at the plants to protest.
At the outset, the strike would idle one plant owned at each automaker, and could force the automakers to halt production at other locations, shaking local economies in factory towns across the Midwest.
“We are using a new strategy,” the union’s president, Shawn Fain, said in a video streamed via Facebook.
“We are calling on select locals to stand up and go out on strike.”
Persons:
Chrysler —, Shawn Fain, ”
Organizations:
United Automobile Workers, Detroit automakers, Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, Facebook