The United Auto Workers (UAW) has announced its intention to expand its ongoing nationwide strike to additional locations, including Detroit, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio, among others. The announcement comes as the UAW strike enters its second week and as GeneralMotors (GM) has yet to agree to a new contract with the union.
The UAW has said that additional strike locations will be determined based on the impact of GM’s decision to close, relocate, or reduce operations. As it stands, GM currently employs around 46,000 union workers in the U.S. and its decision to limit or shutter operations at various plants has put the union’s membership in jeopardy.
The union is demanding job security guarantees, greater transparency on plant utilization and a commitment to build electric vehicles in the U.S., along with other issues. GM has expressed its desire to maintain a competitive cost structure for production and labor costs and says that changes in operations are necessary for the company to remain competitive. The two sides remain at an impasse and no progress has been made.
The UAW is expected to provide more details on its expansion plans in the coming days. It is unclear how many members will join the new locations when the strike officially begins. As the strike continues to drag on, both sides are feeling the pressure to come to an agreement so that the company and union can resume normal operations.
