UAW, automakers prepared to negotiate all night: Rep. Dingell

Nearly 150,000 auto workers could take to the picket lines Friday
Demands: 40% raises, reinstate COLA, end tiered wage systems, 32-hour week
"I think there's a good chance that there could be a strike": Dingell

Updated: Sep 13, 2023 / 06:47 PM CDT

(NewsNation) — Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell said all parties involved in the dispute between the United Auto Workers and Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers are prepared to negotiate all night.

“I think there’s a good chance that there could be a strike,” Dingell said during an appearance Wednesday on “The Hill on NewsNation.” “But I’ve been around a long time, and I know the toughest, greedy negotiations come down to the wire. … I know that all the parties are prepared to work all night and into the hours tomorrow. So I hope everybody’s listening to each other.”

Nearly 150,000 autoworkers say they’re prepared to take to the picket lines Friday if the three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — don’t meet the union’s demands by Thursday night.

Some of the union’s demands include more than 40% pay raises for workers, reinstating cost of living adjustments, ending tiered wage systems and a 32-hour work week.

The union has been warning for weeks of a potential walkout, with about 97% of the members voting to authorize a strike. So far, they are not close to reaching a new contract.

The existing contract between UAW and the three automakers expires at 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday.

NewsNation’s Devan Markham contributed to this report.