UAW President Gives Detroit's Big Three New Deadline Or More Workers Will Strike

DETROIT — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said the strike against Detroit's Big Three will expand to more plants if contract talks do not make "serious progress."

Fain said the union is giving Ford Motor Company, General Motors, or Stellantis until 12 p.m. Friday to come up with better offers or the union will call on more members to join the "stand up."

Right now, roughly 13,000 UAW workers are striking at three plants in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri as part of what Fain called the "Stand Up Strike," which is a strategy to target specific plants.

"We’re going to keep hitting the company where we need to, when we need to," Fain said in a new video posted to Facebook. "This is our generation’s defining moment."

The new deadline comes after a weekend of talks that Fain said earlier were reasonably productive, but didn't share any additional details and added there's still a long way to go in the talks.

General Motors said Monday the company is still bargaining in "good faith" with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible, while Ford Motor Company is preparing for the possibility of more work stoppages.

"We are developing responsible contingency plans for further work stoppages, including plans to ship the parts that keep Ford vehicles on the road — especially to keep first responders and other essential services running," Ford Motor Company said.

The historic UAW strike against Detroit's Big Three began Friday morning after the union's contract expired without a new one in place. It's the first time ever the union launched a strike against all three automakers at the same time.

Ford, General Motors and Stellantis offered the union multiple proposals that included a 10 percent wage increase from GM, a 14.5 percent increase from Stellantis and Ford's 9 percent increase and a 6 percent lump sum added after.

The union rejected all offers after initially calling for a 46 percent wage increase and a 32-hour workweek for its members. The union also wants to eliminate the wage tiered system, restore cost of living adjustments, end temporary workers after 90 days and increase multiple retiree benefits.