UAW strike update: Union changes approach to adding members to picket lines

UAW President announces new phase of strike

The Detroit Big 3 have entered a new phase of negotiations with the UAW, the union president said after it ended it's rule of announcing new strikes on Friday. Instead, autoworkers will picket where needed during a less coordinated time. The strategy is to keep Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis off balance.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - UAW President Shawn Fain will no longer wait until Friday to add more union members to the strike, he announced during an update.

"We’re entering a new phase of this fight, and it demands a new approach," he said.

Typically, Fain has used Friday morning updates to announce the addition of more UAW members to picket lines. Last week was the first Friday since the strike began on Sept. 15 that he did not call on more workers to strike. However, in a surprise move Wednesday, he called on 8,700 members at the Ford Kentucky Assembly Plant to join the picket line.

This will be the approach moving forward.

"We're done waiting until Fridays to escalate our strike," Fain said. "Today, we are not announcing an expansion of our strike, but we are prepared at any time to call on more Locals to stand up and walk out."

Fain said this change is because the automakers have been waiting until Friday mornings to make substantial changes to their offers because they know the announcement will be coming.

"We changed the rules and now there's only one rule - pony up," he said.

Read more UAW strike coverage here.

Last week, Fain said members were prepared to walk off the job at a GM facility in Arlington, Texas, but the automaker made a last-minute decision that prevented this from happening.

GM saved itself from being the strike target by saying it would add its electric vehicle battery plants to the UAW master agreement.

Nearly 34,000 UAW members are currently on strike against Big Three automakers.