Analysts warned that the strike, though limited for the time being, may develop into a prolonged one and a menace to the U.S. economy, as it could cut production by thousands, push up vehicle prices and aggravate supply chain disruptions.

CHICAGO, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Detroit-based United Auto Workers (UAW) has set Friday as a deadline for more walkout as the union's strike against the big three U.S. automakers enters the fifth day.

If the union doesn't see serious progress in negotiations with the three companies, it will spread the strike to more plants Friday, said UAW President Shawn Fain in a video released late Monday on YouTube.

UNDER GLOBAL GAZE

Wearing red T-shirts, hundreds of UAW supporters gathered outside General Motors (GM) Co.'s headquarters in downtown Detroit after the union announced the start of a strike on Sept. 14 against the three U.S. automakers.

"The UAW Stand Up Strike begins at all three of the Big Three," the union said in a post on the social media platform X Thursday, covering a GM assembly plant in Missouri, a Stellantis plant in Ohio and a Ford plant in Michigan, and involving a combined 12,700 workers.

"This is our generation's defining moment," Fain told union members at a Facebook Live event on Thursday night. "The money is there, the cause is righteous, the world is watching."

WELFARE FOR ALL

The union has rejected an offer from U.S. automaker Stellantis to increase workers' wages by 21 percent, Fain said on Sunday.

"I don't really want to say we're closer," he said. "It's a shame that the companies didn't take our advice and get down to business from the beginning."

Fain repeatedly cited the 40-percent pay raises for the Big Three CEOs over the past four years, which are in stark contrast with the 6-percent raises autoworkers have received since their last contract in 2019.

Stellantis' most recent offer included more than 1 billion dollars toward retirement benefits for current employees and retirees. The union, however, has been to seek pensions and retirement health care coverage for all workers, Mark Stewart, the company's chief operating officer in North America, told local media on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Unifor, the union representing the Big Three U.S. autoworkers in Canada, has extended negotiations with Ford for a 24-hour period. "The union received a substantive offer from the employer minutes before the deadline," the union said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Unifor instructed Ford members to remain at work unless they receive alternate instructions from the union.

NO FORESEEABLE ENDING

In response to the strike, a Republican statement said the government has "signaled that it doesn't care about UAW workers" by passing policies that are "forcing our country into a comply-or-die EV mandate that has already burned billions in American taxpayer dollars."

As the days of the strike increase, so will its impact. In a statement Saturday, Ford says 600 workers were laid off from their Michigan assembly plant because of a halt in production when their paint department was called to strike.

Facing the laid-off, Fain responded that these workers won't go without income, and said that this is only a tactic being used for the union to settle for less. He criticized the company's behavior, saying it sees the workers as bargaining chips.

Skipping the second GOP debate in California on Sept. 27, former U.S. President Donald Trump will then head to Detroit to join striking union autoworkers, local media reported.

Analysts warned that the strike, though limited for the time being, may develop into a prolonged one and a menace to the U.S. economy, as it could cut production by thousands, push up vehicle prices and aggravate supply chain disruptions.