95.3 / 88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

UAW appears likely to expand strike against Detroit Three

Flickr
/
Creative Commons 2.0

United Auto Workers likely to strike at more plants Friday.

On his next Facebook Live appearance UAW President SHAWn Fain will give an update on the union's next move - if there's no "serious progress," or tentative agreement. And that move is very likely more plant closings - if the union's new strategy of progressively expanding the strike, plant by plant - continues. Susan Schurman is a professor of labor studies at Rutgers University. She is not surprised there's been no agreement.

"We're not there yet - somewhere there is a timing in which the pressure is going to get really intense - but we're not there yet."

Company leaders say the union's demands are unsustainable and imperil the future of the automakers and the union itself.

Tracy Samilton covers the auto beat for Michigan Radio. She has worked for the station for 12 years, and started out as an intern before becoming a part-time and, later, a full-time reporter. Tracy's reports on the auto industry can frequently be heard on Morning Edition and All Things Considered, as well as on Michigan Radio. She considers her coverage of the landmark lawsuit against the University of Michigan for its use of affirmative action a highlight of her reporting career.