TOLEDO, Ohio — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced in a livestream Friday the union plans to expand the strike to two plants in Michigan and Illinois, affecting an additional 7,000 workers.
The affected plants include the Ford Chicago Assembly Plant and GM Lansing Township, which went on strike at noon Friday. This will bring the number of employees on strike to 25,000 people, Fain said. Lansing Regional Stamping workers will continue working.
"Negotiations haven't broken down, we're still talking with all three companies and still hopeful we can reach a deal that reflects contributions over the last decade," Fain said.
Fain said in the livestream UAW received communication from Stellantis and made "significant progress," and therefore would not be calling on any Stellantis plants to strike.
Strikers at the Toledo Assembly Complex watched Fain's announcement on their phones.
"We sat here and listened to him talk, and we're all very excited about it," said Devin Vargas, a UAW member. "It really got us going. That's why we have more energy right now."
UAW member Michael Mondragon said the additional strikes bode well for the union's nationwide efforts.
"Now with two more assembly plants going out, it's the same idea with the other companies going on as well. That they're doing the same thing. So I think it's definitely a good push in the right direction for everybody," said Michael Mondragon outside the TAC.
In his announcement, Fain also made reference to violence against picketers, such as an incident in which a vehicle struck five workers outside a Michigan plant.
"We've heard of multiple instances of violence against our picketers from people crossing our picket lines," he said. "I want to be absolutely clear. We will not be intimidated into backing down."
This comes as strikers mark two weeks on the picket line. Last week, Fain expanded the strike to an additional 38 plants from the original three facilities, affecting 3,475 workers from General Motors and 2,150 Stellantis workers.
"It's the war of the working class against corporate greed," he said.
In response to the announcement, General Motors Executive Vice President Gerald Johnson issued the following statement:
“We still have not received a comprehensive counteroffer from UAW leadership to our latest proposal made on September 21. Calling more strikes is just for the headlines, not real progress. The number of people negatively impacted by these strikes is growing and includes our customers who buy and love the products we build.
For our part, we continue to stand ready and willing to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement that benefits you and doesn’t let the non-union manufacturers win. Our current, record proposal that is on the table offers historic wage increases and job security while not jeopardizing our future. We’re here to reach an agreement so we can all get back to work, and that remains our 100% focus. Be safe.”
Stellantis offered the following statement, commenting on the discussions with UAW to which Fain referred:
"Stellantis has been intensely working with the UAW to find solutions to the issues that are of most concern to our employees while ensuring the Company can remain competitive given the market’s fierce competition. We have made progress in our discussions, but gaps remain. We are committed to continue working through these issues in an expeditious manner to reach a fair and responsible agreement that gets everyone back to work as soon as possible."
WTOL 11 has also reached out to Ford for comment but have yet to hear back.