United Auto Workers on Friday overwhelmingly voted to authorize strikes at GM, Ford and Stellantis.

“Our goal is not to strike. I want to make that very clear. Our goal is to bargain good agreements for our members,” UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday during a Facebook Live, according to CNBC. “But all we’ve tried to do with this is prepare everybody in the event that we have to take action to get a fair and just contract.”

CNBC Reports:

DETROIT – United Auto Workers members overwhelmingly granted union leaders authorization to call strikes during ongoing contract negotiations with General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis, if warranted.

The union on Friday said an average of 97% of combined members at the automakers approved the action, however final votes are still being tallied. That’s in line with support during negotiations four years ago, when 96% of workers who voted supported authorization for a strike.

The “strike authorization vote” is part of the union’s constitution and viewed as a procedural step in the negotiations. The voting results are historically high in support of the authorization. The vote does not mean there will or will not be a strike.

UAW members are asking for a 50 percent wage increase. They want pensions to be coming back, cost of living increases and they want a shorter work week as well.

The contracts will expire in a couple of weeks. Even if there is a strike, it may be some of the companies and not all that will strike. Car buying inventory has been somewhat tight due to the Covid lockdowns of 2020.

A strike could affect inventory for specific companies involved.