UAW strikes a Mercedes parts plant as union eyes more targets
The United Auto Workers struck a plant that makes parts for MercedesBenz Group AG vehicles, as the union continued to weigh expanding the number of walk-out targets at Detroit’s automakers.
On Wednesday morning, the UAW posted on X that 190 workers at a ZF plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that supplies front axles to Mercedes were now on strike.
The job action followed a union social media post Tuesday evening with a Spartacus movie clip showing “UAW locals waiting to go out on strike” as the title character’s fellow rebels in turn each stand and claim “I am Spartacus.”
The union will have a Facebook Live event on Friday at 10 a.m. local time in Detroit, where it will likely discuss whether additional plants belonging to the legacy Detroit carmakers will face strikes, a person familiar with the discussions said.
President Shawn Fain has said more plants faced walkouts if General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV, the maker of Jeep and Chrysler models, didn’t sweeten their offers. The carmakers said bargaining had continued on Tuesday.
The new job action and Friday deadline raise the stakes for talks between three of the biggest automakers in the U.S. and the union representing
146,000 of their workers.
Rob Smith, executive vice president at Rockville, Maryland-based Fitzgerald Auto Mall, which has more than a dozen dealerships in Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania, said his facilities have already experienced some inventory shortages, “especially with Chevy.”
Smith said in previous times when output from UAW-staffed factories has been impacted, he has tried to over-order parts he knew would be needed.
He is hopeful that the UAW strike will be resolved soon.