General Motors workers in Wentzville in St. Charles County were selected to stop making vehicles and head for the picket lines late Thursday after their leaders couldn't bridge a giant gap between union demands in contract talks and what Detroit's three automakers are willing to pay.
The United Auto Workers union went on strike against GM, Ford and Stellantis simultaneously for the first time in its 88-year history as four-year contracts with the companies expired. The limited strike is at just three assembly plants -- including in Wentzville.
The strike will likely chart the future of the union and of America's homegrown auto industry at a time when U.S. labor is flexing its might and the companies face a historic transition from building internal combustion automobiles to making electric vehicles.
The strike is far different from those during previous UAW negotiations. Instead of going after one company, the union, led by its pugnacious new president, Shawn Fain, is striking at all three. But not all of the 146,000 UAW members at company plants are walking picket lines, at least not yet.
Instead, the UAW targeted a handful of factories to prod company negotiators to raise their offers, which were far lower than union demands of 36% wage increases over four years. GM and Ford offered 20% and Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, offered 17.5%.
"They could double our raises and not raise car prices and still make millions of dollars in profits," Fain said. "We're not the problem. Corporate greed is the problem."
Fain says though the UAW contract is expired, workers at unaffected plants will continue under its framework and adds management cannot change terms of work. Union workers will not become an employee at will.
Workers in Wentzville
Mike Snelson, a nine year United Auto Worker, tells KMOX News he's been stashing some cash away for awhile.
"It won't affect me too badly, because I know how to save my money and spend thrifty. I can survive it," Snelson said. "We need it because we need better conditions working in here."
A union member who asked to be unnamed said he's also been putting money aside and isn't too worried if Thursday was his last day for a while.
"It'll hurt a little bit, but I think it'll just be temporary," he said.
One of the major hang-ups: benefits such as pensions which were negotiated away from new employees after the 2007 contract talks.
Snelson is one of those who does not have a pension.
"Pension is the most important thing. Everybody wants that because a 401k won't last forever like a pension would," Snelson said. "That's the whole ballgame right there, for me."
The 36-year unnamed UAW member discusses what it would mean to get pensions back for those who do not have them: "Oh, it'd be wonderful if they get it. I hope they do get it."
Broader St. Louis area impact
The last time the United Auto Workers went on strike was 2019 and lasted six weeks. The owner of Lowrey's Streetside Pub in Wentzville Adrienne Lowrey remembers how it hurt their business and others.
"They were losing money, losing hours, they had to worry about what came ahead of their 'entertainment,' so it affected business everywhere," she said.
The railroad system which transports vehicles like those manufactured in Wentzville will also be impacted by the strike. Sean Betts is a conductor with Norfolk Southern and talked with KMOX News.
"It could potentially stop us from being able to operate up there because we are union as well -- so we won't be able to pass the picket line," he said.
The other two factories immediately affected are a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio. Only assembly and paint shop workers will walk out at the Ford plant.
Fain, the UAW president, has said the union would increase the number of plants on strike if it doesn't get fair offers from the companies.
Nearly 4,000 are employed by General Motors in Wentzville.
"They're a big part of our business. They're a big part of the community. People don't realize that. It impacts us a great deal," Lowrey said.