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By the numbers: How many UAW members in Michigan, how much would strike cost

The Ford River Rouge Complex is a Ford Motor Company automobile factory complex.
The Ford Rouge Complex has been a driver of automotive production for decades. The automaker’s recent investment in the facility means it will also play a role in EV production over coming years. (Aldo91 / Shutterstock.com)
  • A UAW strike would hit Michigan harder than any other state
  • Michigan has the highest percentage of workers in manufacturing jobs and is No. 1 in automotive jobs
  • Nearly 300,000 auto workers are employed at 12 assembly plants, 23 parts plants and 96 suppliers

Sept. 19: Fain pushes back as Trump plans Michigan trip to court UAW
Sept. 15: UAW strike sets Michigan on uncertain path: ‘We’re nervous’

Sept. 14: UAW-automaker standoff prompts worries over Michigan's place in new economy

A United Auto Workers strike on any of the Big Three automakers would hit Michigan harder than any other state.

Michigan has the highest percentage of workers in manufacturing jobs, it is No. 1 in automotive jobs and is home to dozens of factories that make parts and build vehicles.

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From the birthplace of the modern automobile industry in Detroit to Flint, Monroe, Lansing and Grand Rapids and in towns in between, the automobile industry has been a driver of the state’s economy for over a century.

The Big Three — Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis, which owns the former Fiat-Chrysler — continue to negotiate their respective contracts with the UAW this week. The existing four-year deal expires at midnight Thursday, and union leadership says it's prepared to strike as many as all three automakers. 

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Here are numbers that frame the impact for the state:

600,000: That’s how many people in Michigan work in manufacturing. At 18.6 percent of the state workforce, that’s the highest rate in the nation and nearly double the 10.1 percent rate nationwide.

Nearly 300,000: Workers are connected to making vehicles — either for the Big Three directly or at the hundreds of shops, plants and other providers of automotive products.

12: Total vehicle assembly plants: Five GM plants (Detroit-Hamtramck, Flint, Lansing/Delta Township, Lansing/ Grand River, Lake Orion), four for Stellantis (two in Detroit, one each in Sterling Heights and Warren) and three Ford plants: in Dearborn, Flat Rock and Wayne.

That doesn’t include the 23 parts plants the companies have in Michigan:

8: Ford Motor Co. plants in southeast Michigan, including factories located in Dearborn, Livonia, Ypsilanti Township, Woodhaven and Sterling Heights.

10:  GM plants in Flint, Bay City, Brownstown Township, Pontiac, Saginaw, Romulus, Warren and Wyoming in West Michigan. 

5:  Stellantis plants, located in Detroit, Dundee, Warren, Sterling Heights and Trenton.

96: Major auto suppliers across the state, some of which produce products for multiple manufacturers.

Inside all those plants are tens of thousands of workers who are on edge as the contract deadline looms.

57,000: Ford UAW workers.

46,000: General Motors UAW workers.

43,000: Stellantis UAW workers

11,000: UAW workers in Detroit and Hamtramck, all but 1,000 of which work for Stellantis.

$20.7 billion: Profits of Big Three in first half of 2023 ($12.1 billion, Stellantis; $4.9 billion, GM; $3.7 billion, Ford) 

2019: Last UAW strike, which was a six-week walkout by 48,000 members General Motors and idled 34 plants nationwide.

$4.2 billion: Estimated economic impact of that strike, which Michigan economist Patrick Anderson says launched the state into a one-quarter recession.

$5.6 billion: Estimated economic impact of a 10-day UAW strike against all three automakers, including $859 million in lost wages and $989 million in car manufacturer losses, according to Anderson.

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