"Tick Tock": UAW president reminds Big Three of Friday's deadline before more workers strike
WAYNE, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - With yet another deadline looming in contract talks between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Detroit's Big Three automakers, there are no signs that either side is budging to make a compromise.
While things were quiet Thursday, a source familiar with the ongoing talks says it doesn't mean they are any closer to reaching a tentative agreement.
UAW President Shawn Fain took to "X" Thursday morning, posting a taunting montage of Hollywood scenes and saying "Tick Tock," reminding Ford, GM and Stellantis of Friday's noon deadline before more workers hit the picket lines.
"If we were predictable, I think they'll try just to keep trying to lowball us, so I think our tactics are going well," said Nicole Harding, a striking Ford employee.
Almost an hour after posting that video, a convoy of striking local 900 members from the Ford Assembly Plant headed down to Toledo to support members' picketing outside the Stellantis plant.
"By them going down there, it shows solidarity and unity, so they got to stick together in order for this to all play out and win. Everybody has got to stick together," said Dedrick Johnson, a striking Ford employee.
Stellantis said Wednesday that its latest counteroffer deals with health and safety issues and attendance policies.
But workers are demanding higher wages - almost 40% higher over four years. The automakers are offering half of that.
"Just to bring home a decent check, you're in here about six, seven days out of the week like it's not enough. So with the CEOs making what they're making, and it's like, you guys are really being greedy, and it's time to give back," Harding said.
Long hours are one of the points UAW Vice President Mike Booth highlighted in an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press.
It was a rebuttal to the one GM president Mark Reuss put out Wednesday slamming the union's tactics and demands.
"Mr. Reuss ends his op-ed by claiming that no one wins in a strike. This is nonsense.
The truth is, almost everything the labor movement has achieved was won because workers stood together on picket lines against incredible odds and demanded better working conditions and a better way of life from their employers," Booth wrote.
"Over the 21 years I've been here. They took COLA. They took our Christmas bonuses, they took a lot of stuff, things they took from us, but they never gave it back to us," Johnson said.
Workers keep saying they are in it for the long haul, and many around the country back them.
According to a Reuters poll, 58% of Americans support this strike, 32% are against it, and 10% are unsure.
Fain is expected to announce which additional plants will go on strike in a Facebook Live Friday at 10 a.m.
CBS News Detroit is streaming live coverage of Fain's announcement and will have team coverage and expert analysis.