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On Friday, the United Auto Workers announced strikes at two additional plants in Chicago and East Lansing. They join three factories and 38 Stellantis and GM parts distribution centers already on strike.
The targeted strike comes after negotiations for a new contract failed to produce the wage raises and expanded benefits the union demanded from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of brands that include Jeep and Chrysler.
In addition to the walkout, workers at some facilities have been temporarily laid off as automakers idle factories that they say depend on the work of nearby striking plants.
The UAW has kept its future strike plans secret, and has indicated it might expand or change the locations of strikes depending on how negotiations go.
“As things progress or don’t progress, we’ll make decisions as a board or as a union, and we’ll take the next step,” Fain said after a rally in Detroit on the first day of the walkout. “It could be in a day. It could be in a week. It just depends on how things progress.”
The strike, especially if it expands, could destabilize the U.S. auto industry: UAW workers produce nearly half of the light vehicles manufactured in the United States, according to GlobalData.
Workers are seeking wage increases, expanded benefits and sturdy job protections as the industry moves into producing more electric vehicles, a transition that includes the threat of further plant closures.
The factories currently on strike make some of the automakers’ best known cars, including the Jeep Wrangler and Chevrolet Colorado.
The strike isn’t likely to send car prices skyrocketing in the short term, analysts say, especially if it stays relatively small. But the longer it continues, and the bigger it gets, the more impact it could have on the price and availability of already popular vehicles.
Jeanne Whalen contributed to this report.
