UAW strike enters day 5 with new deadline to reach deal with Big 3 set

UAW sets new deadline for Big 3

The UAW said more autoworkers will picket if a deal is not reached by midday Friday. The union plans to add more workers to the picket line as negotiations continue, part of its stand-up strike plan.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - More United Auto Workers members could join the union's strike against Big Three automakers later this week.

UAW President Shawn Fain announced a deadline of noon Friday. If the union and automakers haven't reached an agreement by then, more workers will be called to join the strike.

MORE: What Detroit's Big Three have offered to the union

"That will mark more than a week since our first members walked out," he said. "It will mark more than a week of the Big Three failing to make progress in the negotiations toward reaching a deal that does right by our members."

Employees from three facilities - Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and the GM Wentzville Assembly Plant in Missouri - are picketing. The union is participating in a stand-up strike, where more workers will be called upon to strike if negotiations are not going favorably.

Fain has blasted offers from automakers and blamed the companies for the strike that began Friday, while the automakers expressed disappointment with the union's leadership.

The union initially was asking for a 46% pay raise, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, the tier system removed, and restoration of traditional pensions for new hires, among other demands. However, the union said it is now willing to accept a pay raise percentage in the mid-30s.

Counteroffers have been passed back and forth between the Big Three and UAW. All three automakers have offered raises that are around 20%.

Either the Big Three get down to business and work with us to make progress in negotiations, or more locals will be called on to Stand Up and go out on strike," Fain said.