The United Auto Workers union vowed to expand its strike on Friday unless significant progress was made in talks with Detroit automakers, even as the companies took steps to ensure dealerships had access to critical parts.
A union official said Wednesday that the UAW is continuing separate talks with General Motors (GM), Ford Motor (F) and Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLA). The union has been carrying out partial strike action at the three carmakers for nearly two weeks. The union official said that unless negotiators can make progress in talks on a new four-year contract, the UAW will identify a new location for the strike at 10 a.m. Friday and begin the walkout at noon that day.
The UAW initially struck at one assembly plant at each of the three automakers, and last week extended its strike action to 38 parts distribution centers owned by GM and Stellantis. The union said it did not strike at more Ford plants because of progress in contract talks with the automaker.
The United Auto Workers union vowed to expand its strike on Friday unless significant progress was made in talks with Detroit automakers, even as the companies took steps to ensure dealerships had access to critical parts.
A union official said Wednesday that the UAW is continuing separate talks with General Motors (GM), Ford Motor (F) and Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLA). The union has been carrying out partial strike action at the three carmakers for nearly two weeks. The union official said that unless negotiators can make progress in talks on a new four-year contract, the UAW will identify a new location for the strike at 10 a.m. Friday and begin the walkout at noon that day.
The UAW initially struck at one assembly plant at each of the three automakers, and last week extended its strike action to 38 parts distribution centers owned by GM and Stellantis. The union said it did not strike at more Ford plants because of progress in contract talks with the automaker.
Gm and Stellantis have developed plans to move white-collar workers to parts centers to continue supplying dealers with parts for customer maintenance and repairs. According to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, before the strike, Stellantis rented an additional nonunion warehouse and had a 30-day inventory of 2,500 different parts, These parts are mainly used for maintenance and repair at dealers for customers.
Stellantis, which owns Jeep, Ram and other brands, has moved some permanent employees to work at parts facilities in the event of a strike, according to the filing and people familiar with the matter.
The facilities are now on strike, but it is unclear whether Stellantis has used the warehouse or assigned permanent staff to help ship parts.
A Stellantis spokeswoman declined to comment on plans to use the warehouse or deploy permanent staff to handle parts, saying the company was disappointed that the union chose to "disrespect customers" by striking at parts centers and that the company has contingency plans to meet customer needs.
Gm also has plans to shift white-collar workers to handle parts shipments, people familiar with the matter said. The company used the same tactic during a 40-day strike in 2019 to ensure that dealers continued to get parts.
A GM spokesman said, "We have contingency plans for all scenarios. We are evaluating whether and when to implement these plans."
A GM spokesman confirmed that the company has trained white-collar workers to fill jobs at parts warehouses. Ford's distribution centers continue to operate.