UAW’s clash with Detroit Three automakers shows off a more confrontational union as strike deadline looms

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain at a union rally near a Stellantis factory last month in Detroit. Fain won the UAW presidency in the spring. He’s assured membership that they can achieve significant gains if they are willing to walk the picket line. (Associated Press)

DETROIT — A 46% pay raise. A 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay. A restoration of traditional pensions.

The demands that a more combative United Auto Workers union has pressed on General Motors, Stellantis and Ford — demands that even the UAW’s own president calls “audacious” — are edging it closer to a strike when its contract ends Sept. 14.