UAW to add strike targets against Big Three U.S. automakers

CHICAGO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Auto Workers (UAW) plans to add strike targets against the Big Three U.S. automakers Friday if there is no major progress in their contract negotiation, The Detroit News quoted a UAW source as saying Wednesday.

The list of potential strike targets in the next stage involves engine and transmission facilities, as well as large pickup trucks and SUV factories.

Like last week, the new locations for strike would be announced at 10 a.m. local time (1400 GMT) on a Facebook livestream hosted by the union, and the strike will begin at noon on Friday.

The UAW's unprecedented strike against the Big Three is now on its 13th day. The UAW went on strike on Sept. 15 at three select facilities of Ford, GM and Stellantis, and expanded the strike to 38 General Motors (GM) and Stellantis facilities on Sept. 22.

Nationwide, 18,300 UAW autoworkers at 41 Ford Motor Co, GM and Stellantis NV facilities in 20 states are on strike, asking for higher wages, pensions for all workers and elimination of the tiered wage systems.

U.S. President Joe Biden visited a picket line outside a GM parts distribution center in the U.S. state of Michigan Tuesday, voicing his support to auto workers. Former U.S. President Donald Trump's visit here came a day after Biden's appearance, where he attacked Biden's policies for transforming the auto industry and showed his support for auto workers.

In an interview Tuesday, UAW President Shawn Fain says he sees "no point" in meeting with Trump, "I don't think the man has any bit of care about what our workers stand for, what the working class stands for. He serves a billionaire class."

"Our focus right now is 100 percent on getting a great agreement for our members," Fain said. "Today was really about our workers."

The automakers are "all for taking all of our tax dollars, helping finance this transition (to EVs). But when it comes to taking care of the workers, the companies keep trying to take us backward and it's unacceptable."

The UAW has not endorsed Biden for his 2024 presidential run yet. The union is seeking more support from the president and lawmakers for a "just" transition to EVs, The Detroit News said.

According to a Cox Automotive forecast released Tuesday, even with a strike and uncertainties of what's to come between the Big Three and the UAW, the U.S. auto industry's sales through the end of September showed a continued "robust" recovery.

Analysts at Edmunds, an American online resource for automotive inventory and information, said Wednesday that the effects of the strike are unlikely to show up in third-quarter sales results for the industry. But if the strike lingers, they expect an impact on auto inventory in the near future.