Potential strike imminent for United Auto Workers

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The United Auto Workers’ contract with the “Big Three” manufacturers; Ford, GM, and Stellantis expires at midnight.

More than 700 members of the local union are among those who had a list of demands they say the car manufacturers would not meet.

Among them are higher wages, updated and improved benefits, healthcare and more.

Union leaders say the strike will occur in waves, adding it won’t be the entire corporation all at once. However, they say more plants will be added to the strike line as the heat builds.

As more people join in, the distribution of resources may decline overtime, and for auto shop owners like Paul Marone — that can mean a longer wait time for his customers.

“We could see this as early as next week, parts for cars come now overnight,” Marone says. “It does have a trickle down effect where we can’t get particular parts and everything is just in time the way they do things now — a lot of the dealers don’t stock some of the parts we have.”

Earlier today, GM Chair and CEO Mary T Barra posted a comment saying in part quote:

“We have been bargaining in good faith to deliver a better package with historic wage increases and manufacturing commitments — past, present, and future. It addresses what you’ve told us is most important to you, in spite of the heated rhetoric from UAW leadership.”

The union leaders who represent the 700 workers in Rochester says, a lot of the issues they were fighting began during the pandemic.

“We were part of the essential workforce,” Dan Maloney, President of the Local 1097 UAW says. “So we’re putting our members at risk, there was no reward. They had – the executives and CEOs – had no risk and a lot of the reward.”

The strike is expected to happen at midnight tonight.

​ ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The United Auto Workers’ contract with the “Big Three” manufacturers; Ford, GM, and Stellantis expires at midnight.

More than 700 members of the local union are among those who had a list of demands they say the car manufacturers would not meet.

Among them are higher wages, updated and improved benefits, healthcare and more.

Union leaders say the strike will occur in waves, adding it won’t be the entire corporation all at once. However, they say more plants will be added to the strike line as the heat builds.

As more people join in, the distribution of resources may decline overtime, and for auto shop owners like Paul Marone — that can mean a longer wait time for his customers.

“We could see this as early as next week, parts for cars come now overnight,” Marone says. “It does have a trickle down effect where we can’t get particular parts and everything is just in time the way they do things now — a lot of the dealers don’t stock some of the parts we have.”

Earlier today, GM Chair and CEO Mary T Barra posted a comment saying in part quote:

“We have been bargaining in good faith to deliver a better package with historic wage increases and manufacturing commitments — past, present, and future. It addresses what you’ve told us is most important to you, in spite of the heated rhetoric from UAW leadership.”

The union leaders who represent the 700 workers in Rochester says, a lot of the issues they were fighting began during the pandemic.

“We were part of the essential workforce,” Dan Maloney, President of the Local 1097 UAW says. “So we’re putting our members at risk, there was no reward. They had – the executives and CEOs – had no risk and a lot of the reward.”

The strike is expected to happen at midnight tonight. Read More Top StoriesRochesterFirst