2:29 PM ET, September 15, 2023
Where the workers walked out
From CNN’s Peter Valdez-Dapena
Fewer than 13,000 of the nearly 150,000 workers currently represented by the UAU at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis are on strike in this first round of labor action.
It’s the first time the UAW has gone on strike against all three automakers at the same time, but it’s a very limited strike, for now. The strikers have walked out of a final assembly plant — a factory where complete vehicles are assembled at the last stage of the production process — for each of the automakers.
At Stellandis’ Toledo Assembly complex, 5,800 workers who make the Jeep Wrangler SUV and Gladiator pickup have walked off the job. The Wrangler is an iconic model with roots dating back to World War II. The Gladiator is essentially a pickup version of the Wrangler.
GM’s Wentsville, Missouri, plant makes two closely related midsize pickups, the GMC Canyon and the Chevrolet Colorado. It also makes two closely related work vans, the Chevrolet Express and the GMC Savannah. About 3,600 workers left their jobs there.
Ford builds the Ranger midsize pickup and Bronco SUV at its Michigan assembly plant, where 3,300 workers are absent. The Bronco is a direct competitor to the Jeep Wrangler, while the Ranger competes against GM’s Canyon and Colorado and the Jeep Gladiator. The entire Wayne facility is not on strike. Body stamping facilities are in production.
Dieu-Nali Chery/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
