Strike fatigue setting in for UAW; analysts wonder about the damage to union and Big Three
WAYNE, Mich. (FOX 2) - Week 4 of the UAW strike, and workers walking the picket line outside Ford Michigan Assembly on Wayne are starting to feel the strain.
"It’s hard right now. The weather’s turned cold. It’s raining tonight," said Mike Smith.
Smith, the vice president of UAW Local 900 says the strain is hitting their pocketbooks too - with workers only getting $500 a week in strike pay, meaning they are taking donations at the office.
"Food, diapers, baby formula, baby wipes, non-perishable food items," he said.
On top of that, Ford, GM and Chrysler-parent Stellantis have handed out more layoff notices - meaning there are now nearly 5,000 workers furloughed since the strike began in mid-September.
"Well I feel bad for any location that is being laid off due to a strike," Smith said. "But one thing about is I know every brother and sister is in the long fight for the long haul, supporting one another."
"The layoffs that we see right now are cutting wider and deeper than we originally thought," said Jan Griffiths. "It’s going to impact the ability to start up again and what about all the new vehicles that we’re launching in the EV space? If we cut too deep it’s going to make those launches more difficult, more problematic."
Griffiths is a former auto industry supply chain executive. She says there’s plenty of dysfunction on display across the board in the contract talks - with an "us-verses-them" mentality that needs to change if the industry will ever fully recover from the strike.
US automakers lay off hundreds more workers as UAW strike's ripple effects grow
The United Auto Workers strike against Detroit's Big Three continues to hit production at the automakers, leading Ford, General Motors and Stellantis to each lay off more workers this week.
"You can argue that well Shawn Fain is winning," she said. "He’s getting some things happening here right? Well okay, but at what cost? We have to think about the bigger picture. This industry is going through a massive transformation right now. We need to be working together."