What to know as UAW strike begins • Middle class threshold changes • Girl hit by vehicle in Madison Heights

FRIDAY NEWS HIT - UAW members walked out of three plants early Friday as a strike began against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.

The union called on members at three plants, Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and the GM Wentzville Assembly Plant in Missouri, to strike after contacts with the three automakers expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. 

It's the first round of the union's "Stand Up Strike." The union's plan is to have workers from a few facilities strike at first and add more depending on the outcome of negotiations. Automakers and the UAW will head to the bargaining table again Saturday in an attempt to reach a deal now that contracts have expired and workers have begun striking.

UAW President Shawn Fain said the union plans to strike "until we get our share of economic justice."

The union initially was asking for a 46% pay raise, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, the tier system removed, and restoration of traditional pensions for new hires, among other demands. However, the union said it is now willing to accept a pay raise percentage in the mid-30s.

Automakers respond to strike

Automakers expressed disappointment as a UAW strike started Friday.

That strike has been looming for weeks as the Big Three and union tried to reach a deal before contracts expired Thursday at 11:59 p.m.

Workers are striking against all Big Three automakers, though they are only striking at one General Motors plant, one Ford plant, and one Stellantis plant currently.

"We are disappointed by the UAW leadership's actions, despite the unprecedented economic package GM put on the table, including historic wage increases and manufacturing commitments," GM said in a statement after workers began striking at the Wentzville, Miss. plant.

Stellantis echoed that disappointment.

"We are extremely disappointed by the UAW leadership's refusal to engage in a responsible manner to reach a fair agreement in the best interest of our employees, their families and our customers," the company wrote.

Ford also released a statement addressing the issue ahead of the strike.

"Ford has bargained in good faith in an effort to avoid a strike, which could have wide-ranging consequences for our business and the economy. It also impacts the very 57,000 UAW-Ford workers we are trying to reward with this contract," the automaker wrote in part.

Strike expected to impact Michigan hard

The implications of an autoworker union strike would span from the sandwich shops that workers shop at to the car prices people see when they go shopping.

But the ripples don't stop there, and some states would be affected differently by a freeze in manufacturing. Both local and state economies would suffer. While the repercussions are coming into focus, much still depends on the length of a potential strike.

"If there was a strike I don’t know if there’s actually going to be true winners out of this.," said Janell Townsend, a professor of marketing and international business at Oakland University. "It’s like any situation, there’s going to have to be some give and take."

Townsend said the fallout would be big from a strike. She also said it would get worse the longer it goes on.

"Going to a strike phase will be difficult on everyone, and it’ll get progressively so the longer that it goes on," she said.

Minimum wage threshold adjusted for inflation

What is the minimum annual income required in 2023 for a family of four to be middle-class in Michigan? The answer is $64,130 – and is right in the middle for the entire country and tied with Wisconsin, Wyoming, New Mexico, and North Carolina. Neighboring states of Indiana and Ohio are slightly lower, at $62,897 and $61,664, respectively.

The middle class is capturing a lower share of income than in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, according to Oliver Rust, head of product at independent inflation data aggregator Truflation. 

Rust said during an interview with Consumer Affairs that in the two decades since the mid-2000s, the portion of the country that is middle class has shrunk from roughly 60%. Instead, there has been a steep increase at the extreme bottom and top of the economic spectrum.

Inflation has surged in the past few years, peaking at 9% in June 2022. That means some families who were middle class in 2020 may no longer be in that category. The Pew Research Center says the share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021.

13-year-old girl hit by vehicle while walking to school

A girl is recovering after she was hit while walking to Page Middle School in Madison Heights on Thursday morning,

Police said the 13-year-old was at the intersection of 12 Mile and Milton when she was struck by a vehicle. She is now listed as stable at a hospital.

"It’s terrible," said Melissa Alnaser. "You think about your own children. I wouldn’t want my son to have to get hit and have to worry about that."

Alnaser's mother lives in the area where the crash happened.

She says speeding cars are a common sight in the area, creating a constant source of concern for worried parents.

Witnesses said the teen flew 50 feet in the air when she was struck. 

Police said the driver stopped and waited for police. They were released from the scene, but the investigation is ongoing. 

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Daily Forecast

It's a beautiful start to the weekend.

What else we're watching

1. Police are looking for a suspect after an attempted break-in at Royal Oak's Made in the Mitten store. The thief tried both doors before the owner yelled that the police were on the way.
2. The Detroit Auto Show is promising to make vehicles more accessible to showgoers than ever before.
3. After he illegally entered the United States by swimming across the St. Clair River, a Canadian man went to a Macomb County pawn shop and stole a gun, according to an affidavit.
4. The softball field at Garden City High School has a new name in honor of beloved softball coach Barry Patterson, who died last year.
5. On Thursday night a suicide prevention community forum was held in Farmington Hills as police discussed ways to help those in need.

Hurricane Lee on path for New England with Tropical Storm Warnings in effect for area

A Tropical Storm Warnings are in place across New England as weather conditions are expected to start to deteriorate late Friday as Hurricane Lee makes its closest approach.

FOX Weather reported that Boston may see sustained tropical-storm-force-winds by overnight, and locals are concerned that the wind and heavy rain could snap branches and limbs and pull down power lines, leaving thousands of people in the dark.

A State of Emergency was declared proactively in Maine as the state faces its worst hurricane threat in nearly 15 years.

The National Hurricane Center says Lee will continue to weaken as it heads into a more volatile environment including wind shear, drier air and cooler waters. However, Lee’s massive size and expected increase in forward speed suggest the weakening process may be slow, and the storm will continue to grow in size as it continues to spin to the north.

Read more here.

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