Workers were told to report for the afternoon shift at 3 p.m. EDT. The UAW scheduled a town hall meeting with members in Saline this morning.
Pickets were out in force earlier Friday, stationed at every plant entrance, cheering and chanting "8-9-2" while car horns blared. Vehicles were allowed to come and go through the main gate with no altercations. There was a strong security presence and local police were standing by. Several pickets, when interviewed, said the strike was about working conditions at the plant as much as it was about pay and benefits.
There were no immediate comments from the UAW and Faurecia about terms of the new contract.
As of 2015, the plant generated about $1.1 billion in annual sales, according to reports at the time.
Many owners
The plant, built by Ford in 1966, covers 1.6 million square feet in the small town south of Ann Arbor, Mich. It later became part of supplier Visteon Corp. when the Ford parts unit spun off from the parent company in 2000. Following years of red ink at Visteon, the plant went through another ownership change before Faurecia acquired it in 2012. Several upgrades took place at the plant in 2015, Automotive News reported at the time.
Under the 2015 contract, wages for new line workers begin at $12 an hour and top out at $17.50 in four years. Skilled workers' pay starts at $28 an hour and top out at $32.
Plant workers and their supporters have been complaining about conditions inside the plant on Saline social media sites for several months, but neither the company nor officials at the union local would answer questions from Automotive News on Thursday. According to a source familiar with the conditions, the plant has experienced plumbing issues and needed to bring in portable restrooms at one point earlier this year.
Several picketing workers on Friday complained about plant conditions, particularly a leaky roof during what's been a very wet and rainy spring in Michigan.
Pickets chanted: "Fix the roof! Fix the roof!"