, picketing a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Mo.; a Ford factory in Wayne, Mich., near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.
If the union expands its strike action, nearly 150,000 workers could be involved and dozens of facilities scattered between New York and Texas could be shut down.The two sides are far apart on just about every issue, with the union demanding wage increases of almost 40 per cent and the implementation of a four-day work week. The companies, meanwhile, have countered with wage hikes of roughly 20 per cent.
But Flavio Volpe, the head of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, said that could change in a hurry. "We've been in a wrestling match with global dynamics for three years," he said. "It's going to have an impact if it goes on, on price and availability of new vehicles."The U.S. strike comes as Canada's biggest auto union, Unifor, is in the midst of negotiations of its own with the companies. The contract currently in place is set to expire next Tuesday, so theoretically a Canadian job action could start as early as then.