Workers exit GM facilities targeted as expanded UAW strikes get underway

A steady stream of striking UAW workers in red shirts spilled out of the doors of Michigan auto facilities in Ypsilanti and Swartz Creek just after noon Eastern Time on Friday, some with fists raised and horns honking as the union's expanded strike against automakers took effect.

UAW President Shawn Fain announced two hours earlier that the week-old strike would expand against 38 Stellantis and GM distribution sites across the country. Fain said an additional 5,625 workers across 20 states for both automakers would walk off the job, adding to the near 13,000 already on strike. In Michigan, the UAW is striking at Stellantis and GM sites in Pontiac, Willow Run, Ypsilanti, Swartz Creek, Burton, Belleville, Lansing, Center Line, Marysville, Warren, Auburn Hills and Romulus.

Which UAW plants are on strike?The 38 GM, Stellantis locations walking out Friday

At the GM Customer Care & Aftersales plant in Ypsilanti, some cheered and some waved fists in the air as they left. A worker in a red Ford stuck a green UAW sign out of his driver-side window as he left the parking lot.

Working overtime to 'make ends meet'

Workers exiting the GM Customer Care & Aftersales facility in Swartz Creek, southwest of Flint, were greeted by a steady soundtrack of honking cars.

Tina Priest, 45, of Flint, said she has been tucking money away for the past year in anticipation of a strike, avoiding eating at restaurants to save. The order selector who has worked at Swartz Creek for two years and at a facility in Lansing before that said she makes $19 an hour.

“I was the first in my family to work for General Motors,” she said. “It was known for good benefits and good pay. And now we're all working overtime so we can make ends meet.”

Shortly before the strike was set to begin at noon, the Swartz Creek facility saw a flurry of activity. Around 11 a.m. on Friday, truck drivers rushed in and out of the shipping and receiving entrance to load up before an expanded strike by UAW members against GM and Stellantis.

The trucks were lined up, and appeared to be loaded and unloaded at a quick clip as noon approached. One unnamed truck driver loading and hauling GM parts told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that truck activity would cease at noon, when the strike was set to expand to the site.

More related coverage:

What is UAW?What to know about the union at the heart of industrywide auto workers strike

How much do they make?As UAW, Detroit 3 fight over wages, here's a look at autoworker pay, CEO compensation

'If not now, when?'Here's why the UAW strike may have come at the perfect time for labor

Strike impact:Auto suppliers say if UAW strikes expand to more plants, it could mean the end for many

Check back here for updates from the picket lines today.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at phoward@freepress.com Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com.