TOLEDO, Ohio — April Sneed is one of thousands of United Auto Workers living off strike pay on the picket line. She said she's grateful for what she's making, and she's been doing less of everything.
"$500 or $5, it's more than what I would've had if I was sitting at home jobless," Sneed said.
Strikers said they've been going to places like restaurants and movie theaters less than before. But Sneed said it was tough to go out even before the strike.
"The schedule of always being here six days a week," Sneed said. "I'm actually saving because I'm not going anywhere."
The strike may affect some local businesses, too. Jan Howard, the owner of Howard's Meats, in Lambertville, Michigan, told WTOL 11 she is bracing for a hit that she knows is coming.
"The next couple of weeks will probably tell the story," Howard said. "Especially if that strike goes into November and gets into the holiday time. It'll set us back."
Cliff Bartelt has worked at the Toledo Jeep Assembly Complex for 30 years. He's a team leader at the facility now and has been using advice he said he got when he first started.
"The old timers told me before a contract make sure you start saving because we don't know when it's going to happen or if you're going to get laid off," Bartelt said.
He said he gave the same advice to his team members, including Sneed, six months before the strike started. But he's worried about new people on his team who haven't had the chance to build up savings.
"They haven't really had the chance to save up yet," Bartelt said. "I know they're hurting a little."
When the strike began over two weeks ago, UAW representatives told WTOL the strike fund was $838 million. There are now 25,000 UAW members walking the picket line across the U.S. and more strike paychecks will go out next week.