UAW Stand Up Strike Begins on September 15, 2023

The United Auto Workers began striking Ford, General Motors and Stellantis at 12:01 a.m. on September 15, 2023. Rather than close every plant at once, the union initially called workers out at one final-assembly plant at each company and expanded the action as negotiations continued. It was the UAW’s first strike against all three Detroit automakers simultaneously.

The “Stand Up Strike” became one of the major labor stories on the 2023 calendar. It tested a new union leadership, disrupted profitable truck and SUV production and ended with contracts that raised wages, restored cost-of-living adjustments and shortened the path to top pay.

Why Auto Workers Were Ready to Strike

The UAW entered bargaining after years of change in the auto industry. During the 2007–09 crisis, workers accepted concessions as General Motors and Chrysler went through bankruptcy and Ford restructured. A two-tier wage system meant employees hired after 2007 could earn less and wait years to reach the top rate.

By 2023, the companies were profitable and senior executives’ compensation had risen. Workers had also experienced high inflation and demanding schedules during the pandemic. The union argued that members deserved to recover concessions and share more directly in the gains they helped produce.

Electric vehicles added another concern. Battery plants and new joint ventures could create jobs outside the master agreements that covered traditional engine and assembly work. Members wanted assurance that the transition to electric vehicles would not replace stable union employment with lower-paid positions.

A New Leadership and a Different Strategy

Shawn Fain became UAW president in March 2023 after the union’s first direct election of top officers. The change followed a federal corruption investigation and a consent decree that placed the election under an independent monitor. Fain campaigned as a reformer and promised a more confrontational approach to bargaining.

Previous UAW negotiations often selected one target company, reached an agreement and used it as a pattern for the other two. In 2023, the contracts at all three companies expired at the same time without a settlement. Fain kept all three as targets.

The selective strike preserved the union’s strike fund and made the next move uncertain. Plants still operating could produce vehicles, but a walkout at an engine, transmission or parts facility could interrupt many other sites. Weekly announcements also created a public deadline that put pressure on negotiators.

The First Plants Walked Out on September 15

About 12,700 workers left three plants: General Motors’ Wentzville Assembly in Missouri, Ford’s Michigan Assembly final-assembly and paint departments, and Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio. The plants produced popular vehicles including midsize trucks, vans and the Jeep Wrangler.

The UAW expanded the strike on September 22 to parts-distribution facilities at GM and Stellantis, sparing Ford because negotiators had made more progress there. Later expansions brought workers out at additional assembly plants and selected high-profit operations.

On October 11, employees at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant joined without the usual advance announcement. The plant built Super Duty pickups and large SUVs, making it one of Ford’s most financially important facilities. Workers at Stellantis’ Sterling Heights Assembly and GM’s Arlington Assembly followed later in October.

At its broadest, the stoppage directly involved about 49,800 workers, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Layoffs connected to parts shortages and interrupted production affected additional employees, though the companies and union disputed responsibility for those effects.

What the Union and Automakers Negotiated

Wages were the most visible demand, but the talks covered a wide contract. The UAW sought the end of unequal tiers, faster progression to the top wage, restored cost-of-living adjustments, stronger retirement benefits, more paid time off and protections against plant closures.

The companies argued that labor costs had to remain competitive while they invested billions in electric vehicles. They also competed with nonunion US plants operated by Tesla and foreign-headquartered automakers. Management warned that overly expensive contracts could reduce money available for new products and factories.

The union did not win every initial demand. Proposals for a 32-hour workweek with 40 hours of pay and the return of defined-benefit pensions for all workers did not become the general settlement. The final packages nevertheless moved significantly beyond the companies’ opening offers.

The Agreements Reached in Late October

Ford and the UAW announced a tentative agreement on October 25. Stellantis followed on October 28 and General Motors on October 30. The union suspended strike activity at each company while members studied and voted on the contracts.

The agreements provided a 25 percent increase in top base wages over four and a half years, with an immediate 11 percent increase. They restored cost-of-living adjustments, reduced the time required to reach top pay from eight years to three and raised wages more steeply for some lower-paid workers.

Each agreement had company-specific provisions. The union won commitments concerning product allocation, investment and certain facilities. At Stellantis, plans included reopening the idled Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant. The contracts also strengthened the union’s ability to respond to plant closures and brought some workers at battery operations within a clearer path toward master-agreement standards.

Members ratified all three contracts in November, although support varied by plant and some experienced workers voted no. Ratification converted the tentative terms into contracts scheduled to expire on April 30, 2028, a date the union chose in part to align future bargaining with other workers.

Why the Stand Up Strike Mattered

The strike came during a broader period of US labor activism that included writers, actors, health-care workers and delivery drivers. A tight labor market, inflation and visible corporate profits made wage and scheduling demands especially prominent.

The UAW soon announced organizing campaigns at nonunion automakers. Its argument was straightforward: the Detroit contracts demonstrated what collective bargaining could win, and organizing more plants could prevent companies from shifting work to lower-cost competitors. Whether those gains spread would depend on difficult plant-by-plant campaigns.

September 15 marks more than the start of a six-week work stoppage. The union replaced the predictable single-company strike with rolling pressure against all three manufacturers. That tactical change, combined with substantial contract gains, made the Stand Up Strike a reference point for how American unions could bargain in an industry being remade by new technology.