UAW Strike

On September 15, 2023, the president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), Shawn Fain, initiated a strike on behalf of the union against the Big Three automakers: General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis after the expiration of the union's contract with the companies on September 14. Among the various reasons for the strike, the most prominent are a demand for a 36% salary increase, a 4-day work week, and better benefits. The choice is still heavily debated as a slight 53% majority of U.S. adults surveyed supported the UAW’s decision.

The UAW’s leader, Shawn Fain, announced that their first areas they would first strike would be the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and GM's Wentzville Assembly in Missouri where 3,600 workers were on staff. According to UAW President Shawn Fain, proposals from the big three automakers haven’t addressed 80% of certain UAW members' requests: “80% of our demands, 80% of our member demands were left off of their proposals, they fall way short of where they need to be,” Fain said. Fain also revealed that strikes at more plants could be possible. 

Additionally, the strike could cost the US economy $5 billion or more. While the workers are on strike, they will receive $500 a week in strike pay, which is far less than what they normally would earn. This causes a multi-million dollar drop in wages for the economy. Not only workers, automakers are also definitely impacted. Analysts at Goldman Sachs estimate that Ford and General Motors are set to lose $100 to $125 million in revenue per week from the strike. Furthermore, since September 22, Ford has announced that the company will dismiss 600 workers, and General Motors would make 2,000 people inactive. 

Auto companies also argue that they have made reasonable counter offers, but raising the UAW’s wage and granting their other demands will make it difficult to compete with other car manufacturers.

On September 26, President Joe Biden joined the UAW union in Detroit, Michigan to support the strikers. Biden urged the workers to “stick with it” and that they deserved the “significant raise [they] need.” It is speculated that the reason for his participation in the strike is due to the upcoming presidential election. 

Discussions are still ongoing, but Shawn Fain has stated that there is still a large gap between what was received and what was requested.