DETROIT (WXYZ) — This year's North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) coincides with a potential strike by UAW members as the countdown continues and a deal remains elusive.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell tells 7 Action News, based on her conversations with UAW leadership, UAW members will not picket outside of the Auto Show Charity Preview.
“We have until midnight tomorrow night to know, or 11:59, whether there will be a strike. But if there is a strike the UAW has been clear that they do not want to harm raising money for children," she said.
Dingell said she will be in attendance at the charity preview, which has raised $100 million for children’s charities in "Southeastern Michigan over the past 25 years," according to organizers.
The congresswoman said if there were a picket line at the event she wouldn’t cross it.
Stacey Nelson, who’s worked for Stellantis for 30 years, said he just wants auto workers to get what’s due to them in this latest contract negotiation.
“I’m not trying to buy no jet or no mansion or nothing, but I still want to take care of my family, continue to take care of my family," he told 7 Action News.
He explained, “We’ve been getting scraps for the last few contracts, ya know, which we haven’t been saying nothing."
"Now that the company been making a lot of money... it’s like you got a slab of meat and we just want a bone with some meat on it. That’s all," Nelson said.
Nelson said the Auto Show hasn’t crossed his mind as it relates to the potential strike.
“That ain’t been my concern. My concern is just come to an agreement and keep working,” he said.
"Hopefully we can come to an agreement and both sides can keep making money," Nelson added.
Dingell said a rally is scheduled to take place next to Huntington Place at the UAW-Ford Joint Trusts Center, starting an hour before the charity preview.
