BEAVERTON, Ore. — The United Auto Workers strike expanded dramatically on Friday, with 5,600 workers at 38 parts distribution facilities in 20 states walking off the job and out to the picket lines. The expansion included workers at a Chrysler part facility in Beaverton, who formed a picket line along southwest Allen Boulevard.
The move is going after General Motors and Stellantis. Chrysler is owned by Stellantis, so the Beaverton center was one of the facilities on the list to join the strike effort Friday as the union aims to ramp up pressure on the big three automakers. Forty-three workers from UAW Local 492 got the call to strike from Shawn Fain, their UAW president.
“We’re out here doing our part, and hopefully this will get Stellantis to come back to the table seriously and start negotiating at the national level so we can get a contract and get back to work,” said Rob Perdue.
Perdue is the UAW Local 492 president, who has worked at the Chrysler parts distribution center for 27 years. He said the strike effort is worth it to get a fair contract.
Other strikers on the line Friday wore t-shirts emblazoned with the message "record profits equal record contracts," and said they're frustrated that, so far, Stellantis hasn't shown a willingness to take care of workers.
“They've taken from us for years, the last couple contracts have been terrible. They don't want to give it back, and they're making money. Car prices went up up up up, everybody knows that, and they're making money hand over fist, but they don't want to give it to the people that are making the cars,” said Sarah Smith, a UAW 492 worker at the Beaverton facility.
Smith said the workers were already feeling the support from people driving and stopping by.
“We've seen so many people, they come by, they honk and wave and that really brings our spirits up,” she said.
As for Perdue, he said the local union members will strike for as long as it takes to get a fair deal.
“We're just kind of tired of the tactics and the things they've done over the years, with tearing our memberships apart with not giving us equal pay, COLA, the different things, some of the broken promises they've made,” he said.
In terms of local impacts, Perdue said consumers who drive Chrysler vehicles and need to have them serviced at a dealership may find that spare parts are in short supply, since they won't be coming from the distribution center. He said the local workers are asking consumers for patience and support, and he said the responsibility for ending the strike rests with Stellantis bargaining to reach a better contract for workers.