Phoebe Wall Howard, Detroit Free Press
Updated Fri, September 15, 2023
Temperatures dropped to 52 degrees after 3:30 a.m. Friday and all the TV camera crews were gone.
Striking UAW members remained.
Factory workers carried their picket signs at gates outside Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, hugging each other and laughing and chanting and even dancing on Michigan Avenue as thousands of UAW workers from three Ford, GM and Stellantis auto plants in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri started a historic strike against the Detroit Three.
Factory workers at Michigan Assembly endured six-hour strike shifts that began at midnight Thursday with plans to continue non-stop every day until workers reach a deal with Ford Motor Co. Their four-year labor contract expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. And while members on the picket line talked of deserving better wages and benefits, few criticized the company or its executives directly.
Horns honked with every car and truck that passed, it seemed all night. People streamed in and out of the UAW Local 900 union hall across the street from the factory that builds the Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup.
"This is what it's gonna take to get to where we need to be," said Dwayne Walker, 60, of Westland, president of UAW Local 900. "Now is our time. If not now, when?"
More: UAW strike 2023 against Detroit automakers: Live updates, news from the picket sites
'It feels different'
UAW President Shawn Fain had been and gone, mobbed by throngs and flanked by press that could be heard speaking various languages. He spent time talking to the press but he remained on site and talked with members and their supporters into the night.
"I love what you're doing, leading the way for us," Jean Taylor, 63, of Wayne told Fain. He smiled.
Jean Taylor of Wayne, a Hi-Lo driver for 30 years at Ford's Woodhaven Stamping Plant, showed up at the Michigan Assemby Plant to support striking workers. She is standing outside the UAW Local 900 hall on Sept. 15, 2023.
Taylor, a retired Hi-Lo driver who spent three decades working for Ford at Woodhaven Stamping Plant, went to the strike site to support the UAW. She said she felt overwhelmed by the feeling of unity on Friday morning. "It feels different to me because young people are coming together. They understand the union, the cause and the fight.
Got faith
Inside the union hall, a father and son who work at the plant picked up signs for picketing. Their shifts aren't until next week and they came early.
"This is a historical moment. You have to stand up for what you want," said Chris Trotter, 48, of Brighton, who has worked in the stamping plant for 10 years. "It's all gonna work out if you've got faith."
Chris Trotter Jr., left, and his father Chris Trotter, of Brighton, seen here on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 at UAW Local 900, each work at Ford's Michigan Assembly and each has strike duty.
Chris Trotter Jr., 18, of Brighton, who began working in body shop assembly at the same plant as his father in May, said, "I think it takes a lot of work, time and effort to get what you want."
As they passed through the exit, a big group of factory workers from the Dearborn Truck Plant came into the union hall to pick up posters and signs. They had finished building the Ford F-150 pickup and wanted to walk the strike line.
Up for 21 hours so far
Ebony Kennedy, 47, of Inkster, works in the Michigan Assembly Plant's quality department when she's not organizing the hall to support striking workers. She fills the coffee pot, stacks styrofoam cups and puts out miniature bags of Doritos, Fritos and Ruffle chips.
She hadn't slept in 21 hours.
Coffee is ready for striking workers at the UAW Local 900 hall across the street from Ford Michigan Assembly on Sept. 15, 2023.
The uncertainty of the situation is hard, Kennedy said.
"In 2019, it was raining and we brought ponchos" to GM workers on strike," she said. "Now it's us. We collect things all the time for other people, and now we're collecting for ourselves. I thought we'd be donating."
While taking care of her own members, she's also preparing for Christmas, when the union will adopt about 250 children identified by childcare agencies, schools and members.
To maintain her energy, she sticks to a Keto diet and avoids sugar. "You feel lighter. I have hummus and chicken and snack all day."
'It's gonna be OK'
These factory workers sometimes refer to themselves as industrial athletes. They work 10-hour shifts, stand on their feet for 10 to 12 hours and navigate repetitive motion. Still, even Day 1 of a strike is exhausting.
Michael Miller, 26, of Monroe, came into the union hall with a red nose after walking all the gates to check on picketers. As a strike captain, he needs to make sure every member is working the strike shift in order to earn the $500 a week strike pay and get health insurance.
Michael Miller of Monroe, seen here on Friday, Sept. 15 at the UAW Local 900 hall, works at Michigan Assembly.
"For us young guys, everyone thinks we make good money. We're striking so we don't have to go somewhere else. In the 1990s, people earned $30 an hour. It's the same 20 years later. Houses were $50,000 then and they're $250,000 now," Miller said. "A lot of people didn't want to strike. Everyone says we're selfish. We want what's right. We build a (Ford) truck every 52 seconds, 600 times a day. People have no idea what it's like to work here."
Leaning back in a chair in an early empty hall, he said, "This is a tough time. Life in general. We need to let people know it's gonna be OK. Everyone is going through a lot right now."
More: Experts weigh implications of UAW strike strategy
Built Ford Tough
At any given time, 200 to 300 members of UAW Local 900 are assigned strike line duty. A man with an injured foot rested awhile, having walked the picket line. The coffee station was mobbed. And Chuck Browning, a UAW vice president and top negotiator for the Ford Department, stopped by the union hall after the strike began. Members said they were shocked he didn't leave until 2:30 a.m.
Dwayne Walker of Westland is president of UAW Local 900, home to the Michigan Assembly Plant workers who build the Ford Bronco, Ranger. He is seen here on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 at the union hall.
Ford workers wore hoodies and jackets with an arm patch that said, "Built Ford Tough."
They talked with each other about their children working at Ford and General Motors and attending Wayne State University. They talked about paying child support, the cost of new cars, the UAW strike strategy and life.
"The check engine light comes on when you get to be this age," a 60-year-old factory worker said, sending those at his table into peels of laughter. Another man sipped soup from a Tupperware container.
Union leaders estimated 3,500 people had been at the union hall throughout the evening. Each strike shift had 147 people covering 18 or so (factory) gates, union organizers said.
Justin Skytta of Livonia is not a UAW member but was one of many young supporters from outside the auto industry at the strike outside Michigan Assembly on Sept. 15, 2023.
People were so spread out that it seemed so quiet in the hours before sunrise.
By 3:25 a.m., a picketer came in and said to no one in particular, "It's cold as hell out there but I'm warming up."
Tonya Hoskins of Westland, left, has worked at Ford for 27 years. Najoi Montgomery of Southfield has worked at Ford since 2020. Both UAW members are seen here at the Michigan Assembly strike site on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.
Outside, Najoi Montgomery danced in the street (not alone) to the traditional hustle "I've changed" by Jaheim with Keyshia Cole. She has worked for Ford since 2020, putting seatbelts in Broncos and left headlights on Broncos and Rangers.
"I dance on the (assembly) line," Montgomery said. "Don't mind me."
No naps
A few feet away, train horns sounded in the distance.
Mike Kosciolek, 55, of Troy, a Hi-Lo driver for 24 years, sat near the plant's giant Ford sign holding his placard while listening with earbuds to the fantasy novel "Homeland," from The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore.
"I'm here trying to make things better," he said.
As the clock ticked past 4:30 a.m., it felt like time was dragging. It was the calm before shift change at 6 a.m.
Mike Smith, vice president of UAW Local 900, has thousands of members who work at Michigan Assembly. He played a key role in strike logistics for the targeted strike on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.
Mike Smith, 52, of Wayne told anyone who would listen that porta-potties should be delivered to the strike line on Friday.
"I haven't slept in 24 hours," said Smith, vice president of UAW Local 900. "I tried to lay down on the floor in my office."
It never happened.
"I wish I had time to shower and shave," he said.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford Michigan Assembly plant: UAW strikers laugh, dance, drink coffee
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