The UAW may opt to strike targeted auto plants if it fails to reach new contracts with the Detroit 3 before this week’s deadline, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Fain has vowed to call strikes at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis if no deal is reached when the current four-year labor deals covering 146,000 U.S. workers expire on Thursday at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
The UAW is considering initially targeting only some specific plants for work stoppages at the three Detroit automakers, two sources briefed on the matter said, adding the strike plan could still change.
One UAW local described the plan on Facebook as a “stand up strike.” Fain, who briefed local unions on the talks on Tuesday, is set to announce the union’s strike plan on Wednesday evening. The Detroit Free Press reported the plan earlier.
Targeting strategic plants could quickly force automakers to halt U.S. production and could extend the time before the UAW’s $825 million strike fund is exhausted.
Coordinated strikes would mark the first-ever simultaneous labor stoppage at all three Detroit automakers and one of the largest U.S. industrial labor actions in recent years.
The UAW on Friday rejected revised offers from Stellantis, GM and Ford. GM made a new offer to the UAW over the weekend, but the details were not immediately available.
“We’ve made a lot of progress over the last few days,” GM President Mark Reuss said at the Automotive News Congress in Detroit. “The give and take is really happening.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
