Auto workers strike will likely expand Friday

The United Auto Workers union expanded its strike against major automakers after both sides failed to reach an agreement by the Friday deadline.

An additional 5,600 workers joined the strike with the other 13,000 members who were already on strike since Sept. 15, The Associated Press reported.

Why the United Auto Workers union is not expanding its strike against Ford

Ford reached some of the union’s demands during negotiations and avoided the additional strikes.

“We’ve made some real progress at Ford,” UAW President Shawn Fain said during a presentation to union members, per AP. “We still have serious issues to work through, but we do want to recognize that Ford is showing that they are serious about reaching a deal.”

Workers at 38 distribution centers for GM and Stellantis that provide parts for dealership repairs will walk off the job Friday afternoon. Despite the progress made with Ford, Fain said they still have work to do with the automaker.

“To be clear, we are not done at Ford,” he said, per The New York Times.

There are 145,000 members of the UAW, and the union argues that it’s time to make good on concessions the union made with the automakers to help with recovery efforts during the economic recession in 2008.

Why is the United Auto Workers union targeting distribution centers?

The new strikes target car dealerships, which are not actually owned by the Big Three companies but are individual franchisees. The moneymaker at dealerships isn’t just selling cars — they also make profits by mechanical repairs in the service centers.

According to CNN, the union’s tactic of targeting the distribution centers for GM and Stellantis will trickle down to service centers, eventually making dealerships run out of new parts, forcing dealerships to also put pressure on manufacturers to meet demands.