The strike comes after the three auto plants failed to reach a deadline by Thursday night to provide negotiations with workers and the corporations surrounding better working conditions and better wages. Workers are also on strike because of the concerns surrounding electric vehicles, hindering work hours and pay.  Workers also demand a 32-hour work week with forty hours of pay, pension increases, and an end to wage-tier factory jobs.

The United Auto Workers (UAW), representing around 150,000 workers, started their strike on September 15, with nearly 13,000 workers walking out in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. The union also targets specific auto plants if a deal can’t be reached with its workers across particular states. 

In response to the strikes, Ford and General Motors have said to release workers not reporting to work, with Ford laying off 600 workers in Michigan, followed by 2,000 at a Kansas General Motors plant. Stellantis has yet to indicate to be laying off workers.  In a partial statement by the president of the UAW, Shawn Fain, he writes, “The UAW will make sure any worker laid off in the Big Three’s latest attack will not go without an income. We’ll organize one day longer than they can and go the distance to win economic and social justice at the Big Three.”

According to economists, the strike could result in billions of dollars lost in revenue, costing General Motors $3.6 billion from the last strike in 2019. The strike can also disrupt the production of vehicles and affect supply chains surrounding the auto-making industry in places such as Detroit, where half of the car market and manufacturing resides. 

Some discussions have been made with the UAW and some plants, such as Ford, but a deal has yet to be reached. On Thursday, President Biden spoke with auto companies and supported auto workers during the start of the strike on Friday.