The United Auto Workers union on Monday ordered the layoffs of 6,800 workers at the heavy-duty Ram pickup truck plant in Michigan, in a significant escalation of a six-week strike against three major U.S. automakers.
Union workers at the Sterling Heights, Michigan, plant owned by Ram, Chrysler and Jeep parent company Stellantis went on strike Monday morning. The suspension of production at the Stellantis plant, the largest in the U.S., suggests that there remains a wide gap between the automaker and the UAW, which has received 40% pay raises over four years, better retirement benefits and more. It calls for other reforms.
“Stellantis is considering worst-case proposals regarding wage progression, temporary worker pay, full-time conversion, and cost-of-living adjustments,” the UAW said in a statement.
The strike at the Ram plant is the first escalation since Oct. 11, when the UAW called on 8,700 workers at Ford Motor Co.’s largest plant in Louisville, Kentucky, to resign. The factory produces the company’s Super Duty version. His popular F-150 truck and Ford Expedition full-size sport utility vehicle.
Ram is one of the most important of Stellantis’ many car brands due to the popularity and price of pickup trucks in the United States. The plant, located about 40 miles north of Detroit, produces the Ram 1500 pickup truck, the brand’s best-selling vehicle. In the first six months of this year, Stellantis reported profits of about $12 billion, more than General Motors and Ford combined.
Stellantis is a relatively new company, formed in January 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and French automaker Peugeot. The combined company will be based in Amsterdam, with U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, near Detroit.
Approximately 40,000 Ford, GM, and Stellantis employees are on strike across the United States. Unions are striking at Ford plants in Michigan, Kentucky and Chicago. A factory in Ohio and a spare parts warehouse owned by Stellantis.His two factories in Michigan and Missouri and a GM-owned warehouse
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