DETROIT — The music and chants from outside a General Motors assembly plant at midnight Monday could be heard from several blocks away as United Auto Workers members picketed the plant.
“No contract, no cars!” chanted dozens of workers outside GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, on the outskirts of the city. Others yelled, “No more tiers,” in reference to the current pay structure of UAW workers that includes an eight-year grow-in period to reach top hourly pay levels.
Several union members walking the picket line say they just want a “fair deal” from the automaker. Some said that includes better pay amid the company’s record profits. Others said it’s about keeping Detroit-Hamtramck and three other U.S. plants for GM, including Lordstown Assembly in Ohio, open after the automaker announced plans last year to potentially shutter the facilities.