(NewsNation) — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced the expansion of the union’s strike to an additional 7,000 members at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and General Motors’ Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan.
Walkouts began just after noon ET Friday.
Lansing Regional Stamping employees will continue working, Fain said.
Chicago’s Ford plant makes the Explorer and Explorer Police Interceptors, as well as the Lincoln Aviator SUV, while the General Motors plant in Delta Township makes large crossover SUVs such as the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave.
At this time, the union is not calling for additional strikes at Stellantis. Moments before he went on Facebook live to announce the escalated strike, Fain said, Stellantis made significant progress on a few demands the union is making.
“We are excited about this momentum at Stellantis and hope it continues,” Fain said.
In a statement, Stellantis said it’s committed to “working through these issues in an expeditious manner to reach a fair and responsible agreement that gets everyone back to work as soon as possible.”
Fain stressed in his remarks that negotiations have not broken down between the two parties, but Ford and General Motors have “refused to make meaningful progress at the table.”
“We’re still talking with all three companies and I’m still very hopeful that we can reach a deal that reflects the incredible sacrifices and contributions our members have made over the last decade,” Fain said.
Ford, in its own statement Friday, maintained that the company has “offered a contract that would change the lives of its 57,000 workers.”
“If the UAW’s goal is a record contract, they have already achieved this,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said. “It is grossly irresponsible to escalate these strikes and hurt thousands of families.”
Strikes started Sept. 15, when 13,000 workers stopped work at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis locations in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. This was later expanded to 38 locations across 20 states and all nine regions of the UAW for General Motors and Stellantis.
What’s being asked for by the UAW, along with cost of living increases, are the restoration of defined benefit pensions for newly hired workers, the re-establishment of retiree medical benefits and an end to tiered wages.
“Our anger is righteous, and our struggle is just,” Fain said Friday. “We are fed up with corporate greed and we are fed up with corporate access. We are fed up with breaking our bodies for companies that take more and more and give less and less.”
As of noon ET Friday, 25,000 of the UAW’s 146,000 members are on strike, according to Fain.
The Associated Press reports GM manufacturing chief Gerald Johnson wrote a note to workers Friday saying the push for more strikes is “just for the headlines, not real progress.”
“We continue to stand ready and willing to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement that benefits you and doesn’t let the non-union manufacturers win,” Johnson wrote.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story is developing. Refresh for updates.