Workers at the Spring Hill GM plant join the UAW strike

Workers at the General Motors plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, are on strike after more than six weeks of negotiations with GM. They started picketing late Saturday, joining thousands of auto workers across the country.

UAW Local 1853 president John Rutherford — a third-generation union member — said they’re asking for increased pay, cost of living allowances, and other benefits that have been on pause since General Motors’ bankruptcy in 2009.

“A lot of people in the public are like, ‘Oh, we’re asking for a lot,’ but we haven’t had a raise for a long time,” he said, “We’re trying to get back what we lost.”

Spring Hill is General Motors’ largest assembly plant and employs more than 3,000 people.

Those workers have been on standby to join the picket lines since late September, when the national United Autoworkers Union entered negotiations with Ford, GM, and Stellantis.