LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hundreds stood united outside of UAW Local 862's union hall Thursday, during a rally "to show solidarity and support to striking UAW workers."
About 13,000 auto workers walked off the job Sept. 15 after union leaders couldn't reach a deal with Detroit's big three automakers—Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
"This wheel," Tim Smith, referencing the UAW union logo, said, "gives people hope. And I get emotional because of what it does. It changed my life and it's gonna' change their lives."
Smith, the director of UAW Region 8, said all options remain on the table, referencing a looming noon deadline Friday for the union.
While negotiations continue, UAW leadership is expected to announce more strike targets Friday at 10 a.m., with the announced plant workers walking off the job at noon.
When asked if the Louisville Assembly Plant (LAP) and Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP) are being considered for the targeted strike expansion, Smith said members are "ready" if called on.
"If we make the decision, [Friday], to strike, KTP and LAP will be ready," Smith said. "But most of all, this membership will be ready."
Louisville UAW chapter, Local 862, has been preparing a strike plan for about two weeks now.
"I don't want to strike but I will," Edith May-Right, an autoworker at KTP, said.
Right is not looking to strike but said she'll do what she has to for her co-workers.
"Yeah, I'm going to walk out. I'm going to take all my brothers and sisters with me. I'm not going to be the only one walking out," she said. "I'm going to take them all out the door with me."
"I want the media to understand, this is not just about what we're doing here, it's about what we're doing everyday in the plant," Smith said.
It's a sentiment that resonates with CJ Mayes, who's spent the last 29 years working for Ford.
"I don't think they know what we're going through, what it is to be on the floor, the cement," Mayes, a quality inspector at LAP, said. "[To] work everyday and move all day long -- a 15-minute break and half hour lunch --And then go home to your families and you're at work longer than you are at home. They don't know."
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