UPDATE | UAW 1112, 1714 members OK strike authorization

LORDSTOWN — More than 90 percent of those in the United Auto Workers Local 1112 and Local 1714 voted in favor of strike authorization.

Ninety-six percent of the Local 1714 members, who work in the fabrication plant at the General Motors Lordstown Complex where the best-selling Chevrolet Cruze is built, who voted supported giving the international union authorization to strike if needed and to also authorize the local union to strike if needed.

Ninety-six percent of the UAW Local 1112 members, assembly plant workers, who voted also authorized the international union to strike if needed with 94 percent voting to authorize the local union to strike if needed.

A strike authorization vote is a normal part of the process for the UAW and does not necessarily signal the union’s intent to call a strike. A strike authorization vote by the union’s members gives the union’s leaders the ability to call a strike if contract talks stall or hit an impasse.

The UAW union has scheduled deadlines for strike authorization votes at its GM and Fiat Chrysler locals as part of its national contract talks.

The union formally began negotiations with GM, Fiat Chrysler America and Ford in July in advance of the Sept. 14 expiration date of a four-year contract with all three automakers.

The votes are scheduled to take place at the UAW’s FCA locals across the country.

It’s unclear whether a strike authorization deadline has been scheduled for Ford workers.

A number of UAW units, including those in Belvidere, Ill., Detroit, Toledo and Warren, Mich., already have completed their votes with an overwhelming majority of members voting in favor of the authorization.

The UAW represents about 141,000 workers at the three automakers, including 50,300 at General Motors and 39,000 at FCA.