> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # UAW Strikes Ford, GM and Stellantis at Once for First Time, Sending 13,000 Workers Off the Job - URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/taq-historical-2023-09-16-us/ - Published: 2023-09-17T03:59:00.000Z - Updated: 2023-09-17T03:59:00.000Z - Description: The United Auto Workers launched simultaneous strikes at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, targeting three plants while keeping most members working under an escalating strategy. - Author: TAQ Staff - Tags: US, #Import 2026-09-01 05:53 The United Auto Workers began simultaneous strikes against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis just after midnight Friday, the first time in the union’s history that it has struck all three major Detroit automakers at once. Roughly 13,000 workers initially walked out at three assembly operations in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio after national contracts expired without replacement agreements. The union called the action its [“Stand Up Strike”](https://uaw.org/the-stand-up-strike-begins-at-the-big-three/?ref=theamericanquorum.com), a deliberate departure from the traditional UAW practice of selecting one automaker as a bargaining target. Instead of calling all 150,000 covered members out immediately, President Shawn Fain chose targeted facilities while keeping other plants operating under expired contracts and ready to join the strike if negotiations fail to advance. ## Three plants were chosen to open a strike with room to expand The first walkouts hit GM’s Wentzville Assembly plant in Missouri, Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and final assembly and paint operations at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. The facilities build some of the companies’ most visible trucks, vans and sport-utility vehicles, including the Ford Bronco and Ranger and Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator. The UAW had previewed the strategy in a [September 14 bargaining announcement](https://uaw-newsroom.prgloo.com/press-release/uaw-announces-stand-up-strike-strategy-in-a-historic-first-at-ford-general-motors-and-stellantis-in-case-of-no-agreement-by-midnight-tonight?ref=theamericanquorum.com), saying additional plants could be called out with little notice. That gives the union a way to increase economic pressure without exhausting its strike fund or removing every member from the companies’ payrolls on the first day. The union’s [strike launch statement](https://uaw-newsroom.prgloo.com/press-release/uaw-launches-historic-stand-up-strike-against-big-three-automakers?ref=theamericanquorum.com) said all three automakers had failed to produce agreements the membership could accept before the deadline. Fain has framed the talks around compensation lost during previous industry crises, the spread of lower-paid worker tiers and the companies’ improved profitability in recent years. ## Pay is central, but the dispute reaches beyond the wage rate The UAW entered bargaining seeking a large general wage increase over the life of the contract, restoration of cost-of-living adjustments, faster progression to top pay, improved treatment of temporary workers and stronger retirement and job-security provisions. The union has also pressed for a shorter workweek and other changes that the companies say would sharply increase labor costs. By Friday, Ford and GM were offering wage increases of about 20% over roughly four and a half years, while Stellantis’ offer was somewhat lower, according to [contemporaneous reporting](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/15/uaw-strike-updates/?ref=theamericanquorum.com). The union had reduced its headline wage demand from an earlier level but still sought increases materially above the companies’ proposals, along with the nonwage changes. The companies argue that any settlement must preserve their ability to invest in electric vehicles, batteries and software while competing with automakers whose U.S. plants are not represented by the UAW. Fain counters that the transition to electric vehicles cannot become a mechanism for replacing established auto jobs with lower-paid work. ## The White House is siding rhetorically with workers while urging a deal President Biden said Friday that he respects workers’ right to use the collective-bargaining system and argued that “record corporate profits” should support stronger contracts. An [Associated Press account](https://apnews.com/article/50d3fbb70714b2faff3b87b596fc0455?ref=theamericanquorum.com) of the remarks said Biden planned to send acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and senior adviser Gene Sperling to Detroit to support efforts to reach an agreement. Biden’s position reflects a larger policy tension. His administration is spending heavily to accelerate U.S. electric-vehicle and battery production, but much of the new investment involves joint ventures or factories where union representation is unresolved. The UAW wants the clean-energy transition to preserve the wage and benefit standards associated with legacy auto manufacturing rather than create a parallel, lower-cost employment model. Fain responded to the president in a [Friday statement](https://uaw-newsroom.prgloo.com/press-release/statement-from-uaw-president-shawn-fain?ref=theamericanquorum.com), agreeing with the principle that record profits should mean record contracts but rejecting any suggestion that bargaining had stopped. He said union negotiators remained at the table and that all three companies had received comprehensive counteroffers. ## An unusual strike structure changes the economic calculus The UAW’s strategy is designed to create uncertainty. Under the older target-company model, one automaker could be selected for a nationwide strike while the other two continued production. The new structure exposes all three companies simultaneously while preserving the union’s ability to escalate plant by plant. That means the early economic effect is smaller than a full shutdown but potentially harder to predict. Suppliers do not know which assembly plant may be added next. Dealers must assess which models could become scarce. Automakers must decide how far to move at the bargaining table without knowing where the next production disruption will occur. The [Washington Post’s first-day coverage](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/15/uaw-strike-detroit-automakers/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported that the three initial plants collectively employ thousands of UAW members and produce high-value vehicles. The targeted approach therefore gives the union leverage disproportionate to the number of workers initially off the job. ## The dispute is becoming a test of who benefits from the industry’s transformation The negotiations follow several years in which automakers recovered from pandemic disruptions, vehicle prices rose and companies committed tens of billions of dollars to electric-vehicle platforms and battery capacity. Workers argue that concessions made during earlier crises and the erosion of inflation-adjusted wages justify a substantial reset. Management says the industry is entering an unusually capital-intensive competitive transition and cannot commit to labor structures that make U.S. production uneconomic. The union’s [bargaining archive](https://uaw.org/category/big-three-bargaining/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) makes clear that Fain intends to use public communication as part of the negotiating strategy, releasing videos, plant instructions and company-by-company assessments directly to members rather than relying on closed-door bargaining updates. As of Saturday, the strike remains limited compared with the UAW’s full membership, but its structure means the number is not the most important measure. The union has placed all three companies under the same deadline and made every major plant a potential next target. Whether that produces faster concessions or a much wider shutdown will depend on how quickly the gaps over wages, tiers, retirement benefits and the electric-vehicle transition narrow in the days ahead.