ARLINGTON, Texas — Five thousand employees at the General Motors plant in Arlington have gone on strike, the United Auto Workers union confirmed Tuesday.
The union said around 1,300 employees initially walked out of the plant Tuesday, but the total number of employees on strike is up to 5,000.
The union said the workers were joining the "Stand Up Strike," which has now seen more than 45,000 union members go on strike across the country.
"Another record quarter, another record year. As we've said for months: record profits equal record contracts." UAW President Shawn Fain said in a release. "It’s time GM workers, and the whole working class, get their fair share."
GM officials called the walkout an "unnecessary and irresponsible strike."
"We are disappointed by the escalation of this unnecessary and irresponsible strike," the statement said. "It is harming our team members who are sacrificing their livelihoods and having negative ripple effects on our dealers, suppliers and the communities that rely on us."
Fain said Friday that while Detroit’s automakers have increased their wage and benefit offers, he believes the union can gain more if it holds out longer in contract talks.
In a Facebook Live appearance, Fain didn’t announce any more factories to add to those that have been on strike for up to five weeks. But he warned that the UAW could announce such an expansion of its strikes at any time, depending on how much progress it makes in its negotiations with the automakers.
In the past week, Fain said, Stellantis and GM have made wage offers that matched Ford’s 23% over the life of a four year contract. But, speaking in his characteristic sharp tones, the union president insisted that the companies can go further.
“We’ve got cards left to play, and they’ve got money left to spend,” he said.
Arguing that Ford “pretends they can’t afford what we’re asking for,” Fain noted that the company has complained about the union's walkout at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, which has had to shut down. That plant is the largest and most profitable Ford factory in the world.
“We took their biggest plant out and they haven’t come back with anything new,” he said.
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