DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union is expanding its strike to a Stellantis plant in Michigan that produces Ram 1500 full-size pickup trucks, dealing another blow to the three major U.S. automakers as negotiations drag on.
The work stoppage includes roughly 6,800 workers at Stellantis’ Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in suburban Detroit, the union announced Monday after initiating the walkout.
“Currently, Stellantis has the worst proposal on the table regarding wage progression, temporary worker pay and conversion to full-time, cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), and more,” the UAW said in a release.
The work stoppage at the Sterling Heights plant brings the total number of UAW members on strike with the Detroit automakers to more than 40,000. It marks the first escalation in the union’s strike in nearly two weeks and the first new work stoppage at Stellantis in over a month.
The facility is one of the most important U.S. plants to Stellantis. However, the automaker is better poised to wait out a work stoppage at the truck plant than its crosstown rivals General Motors and Ford Motor, with a relatively healthy supply of Ram pickups ready to go.
The company had a 114-day supply of the Ram 1500 pickup as of Oct. 17, according to Cox Automotive, compared with GM’s 100-day supply of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, and Ford’s 99-day supply of the F-150. The industry average is roughly 62 days, according to Cox.
The unannounced walkout is the latest example of what UAW President Shawn Fain called a “new phase” of bargaining with the automakers in which the union would take a more aggressive tack. For several weeks since the targeted strikes began, on Sept. 15, the UAW was pre-announcing strike locations, typically on Fridays.
But on Oct. 11 the union announced its first unexpected walkout at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant — responsible for $25 billion in revenue annually — marking a major escalation in the ongoing negotiations.
Fain on Friday said there was “more to be won” from the automakers.
Stellantis did not immediately comment Monday following news of the latest strike.
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