UAW Strike Starts, Not Affecting KC Area Plants Yet
September 15, 2023 2:26PM CDT
Members of the United Auto Workers strike outside of a John Deere plant, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, in Ankeny, Iowa. About 10,000 UAW workers have gone on strike against John Deere since last Thursday at plants in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
(AP)- About 13,000 U.S. auto workers stopped making vehicles and went on strike Friday after their leaders couldn’t bridge a giant gap between union demands in contract talks and what Detroit’s three automakers are willing to pay.
Members of the United Auto Workers union began picketing at a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.
The GM plant in Kansas City, Kansas and the Ford Plant in Claycomo are not included in the initial UAW strike.
It was the first time in the union’s 88-year history that it walked out on all three companies simultaneously as four-year contracts expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.