Stellantis threatens layoffs as UAW strike against Big Three enters day six
WAYNE, Mich. (FOX 2) - On day six of the United Auto Workers strike, the ripple effect is being felt among the Big Three.
Stellantis says that 68 jobs from the Toledo plant will be laid off, as well as 300 at two facilities in Kokomo, Indiana. Stellantis claims it has made five offers to the UAW in working toward an agreement.
Striking Ford workers at Ford's Michigan Assembly in Wayne are holding firm and say that the deal the Canadian union made, doesn't mean progress necessarily for them on this side of the border.
On Wednesday striking workers tried to block a supplier's semi-truck making a delivery. It is just one aspect of their fight for higher pay, raging on.
"We're just trying to get what we deserve, you know?" said one worker from Local 900.
UAW President Shawn Fain set a deadline of Friday at noon for the Big Three to either strike up an acceptable deal or face strikes at more facilities around the country.
"I want them to do the right thing," said Michelle Gillis. "I want a good, working living wage. I’m a single mom and I should be able to look at my son and say, 'Hey let’s go out tonight, you know? You wanna go camping this weekend?' Right now, I can't."
Ford struck a tentative agreement with Unifor, the union representing 5,600 Canadian autoworkers, but UAW members at Ford's Michigan Assembly in Wayne, are still skeptical.
"That’s a lot less than what we got out here," said one union member. "Every contract’s different for every different company so you can’t really look at that. I can’t look at UPS’s and think that I’m going to get exactly what they want, but they do give me a blueprint to try to fight for what I want."
"I heard a little something. I can’t really discuss too much because we're not in Canada, we're right here," said another striker. "We're just fighting for what we got to do right here."
FOX 2: "Do you think that could be a sign of things moving in the right direction?"
"Maybe, hopefully," she said.
Meanwhile nearly 370 workers are expected to be pink-slipped by Stellantis in Ohio and Indiana, with the company blaming it on the UAW.
"They’re scared. That’s how I look at it, they’re just scared. Sooner or later it’s not like we can’t strike those plants anyway right?" said another worker. "I just feel like they’re trying to do their moves to try to save them some loot because they don’t know how long they’re going to be stuck."
