KOKOMO — Workers at the Kokomo casting plant went to work as usual today as the United Auto Workers union strike began at midnight on Friday.
The UAW union went on strike at three vehicle assembly plants early Friday morning as it pressed Detroit companies to come up with better wage and benefit offers. The factories include a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri, a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit, and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.
In Kokomo, more than 6,000 people are members of the UAW union — around half of Indiana's entire UAW union population.
Scott Dieterman, a shop chairman at a local GM facility in Kokomo, shared his excitement and nerves for the strike.
"We've been beat down for a long time," Dieterman said. "This is the moment. We're to the end of our rope. We're excited and want to see how this plays out."
It has not yet been announced when and if the facilities in Kokomo will begin to strike.
