MONROE, Mich. — Sunday marked Day 38 of the United Auto Workers strike against the Big 3.
While workers at Jeep's Toledo Assembly Complex have been on the picket line since the first day of the strike, many more local UAW units have joined them on strike since mid-September. And many more have heard UAW President Shawn Fain's message to be ready to walk out at any time as the strike continues to expand.
WTOL 11 checked-in with other local UAW members in the region to see how they are preparing after Fain announced the "new phase" of the strike.
"We are 100% prepared," said UAW Local 723 President Michael Miller. "If president Shawn Fain calls us to go, we are ready."
Based in Monroe, Mich., Local 723 has more than 800 members who work at the Stellantis Dundee Engine Plant.
Miller said he and the union members are fully prepared to hit the strike line and they have been for some time.
"We've been trying to get a head of it because we're suppose to be ready at a moment's notice," said Jeffrey Lavere, a member of Local 723. "We got everything ready. We're just waiting."
Inside the engine plant, members wear pins that read "I don't want to strike, but I will."
"It's important that the members stay motivated," Miller said.
Miller said the community and local leaders have come together to support the union so when they get the call members can hit the line quickly.
"Rising tide raises all ships," Miller said. "Everybody is important right now, and I just want to say thank you to those members holding the line, and if we're called we'll be right along there with you."
Back in Toledo, if the strike continues through Wednesday, it will make it the longest UAW strike in the city's history.
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