The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has called for an additional 7,000 members to join the ongoing strike against Detroit’s major car manufacturers, known as the Big Three.
UAW President Shawn Fain urged workers at Ford and General Motors plants in Chicago and Michigan to join the strike starting at noon on Friday.
Fain stated during a live-streamed message on YouTube, “I’m calling on Ford’s Chicago assembly plant to stand up and go on strike, and I’m calling on GM’s Lansing Delta Township to stand up and go out on strike.”
The strike initially began last week, with workers demanding higher wages, shorter working hours, improved retirement benefits, and other enhancements.
Currently, more than 18,000 workers are participating in the strike across 41 plants located in 21 different states.
The strike’s impact extends to the 2024 presidential election, with both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump seeking to gain support from the car workers.
President Biden joined Mr. Fain and others on the picket line earlier in the week, encouraging them to continue their fight for better wages.
“UAW, you saved the car industry back in 2008 and before, you made a lot of sacrifices, you gave up a lot when companies were in trouble,” Biden remarked.
The White House did not confirm whether President Biden supports the UAW’s demand for a 40 percent wage increase.
Meanwhile, former President Trump addressed workers at a non-union car parts store in Clint Township, with Fain notably absent.
In the 2020 election, President Biden narrowly defeated Mr. Trump, the current front-runner for the 2024 Republican candidacy.
The UAW, which endorsed President Biden in the previous election cycle, has not yet endorsed any candidate for the upcoming 2024 election.
