DETROIT (WXYZ) — On Friday, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced two additional facilities and over 7,000 workers will join the strike, citing little progress and no deal reached by the Big Three and the union.
Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley pushed back saying the UAW is holding negotiations "hostage" over Ford's planned battery plants.
The two facilities where employees walked out at noon EDT are Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant and General Motor's Lansing Delta Assembly plant. While it's day one of striking for them, it's day 15 for some striking workers, who say they won't give up until all their demands are met.
"We are looking forward to the younger generation, younger people that need the same needs we do," Ford Michigan Assembly Plant strike captain Sherrie Johnson said.
Fain made rounds Friday at the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit and GM's Lansing Delta Assembly. Ford was spared in the round of walkouts last week, but not this time.
“Bottom line, someone needs to tell the truth about what's really going on and what's at stake here," Farley said in an online news gathering Friday following Fain's announcement. "The UAW is holding the deal hostage over battery plants."
Farley went on the offense and detailed what Ford has brought to the negotiating table. They say they're offering an over 20% increase in wages, eliminating wage tiers and are granting more time off.
“It’s ironic that some of these CEO’s make these statements and literally the CEO of Ford has been in the three meetings over the course of this thing," Fain said in response. “We’re not out here to grab headlines. This isn’t fun to us. We’re not out here just for the heck of it. We’re out here because GM and the Big Three companies screwed around for three weeks and didn’t get to bargaining with us.”
Negotiations have been happening for weeks. Wayne State University professor of business Marick Masters says the slow addition of striking facilities will only continue if no deal is reached soon.
“He's going to strike them when he thinks they need a nudge until he has to resort to a full scale strike," Masters said. “I think we're in the realm of a possible deal. But as you get closer, sometimes you argue over the particulars and the details, and it can be a cumbersome process to close a deal."
The UAW has been holding rallies and convoys to drum up support including convoys at noon and 8 p.m. Friday in front of the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit.
“All we have to do is just last one day longer than the companies are willing to hold out," UAW Local 900 solidarity convoy coordinator Geoff Booth said.
Negotiations will continue into the weekend, as Fain says those conversations continue to happen every single day.
