Autoworkers plan pickets and pinch pennies as strike nears

Autoworkers at Detroit’s biggest vehicle manufacturers are signing up for strike shifts, buying burn barrels and saving money to prepare for a possible work stoppage as contract talks remain tense ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Many say they see a strike as inevitable, even as small signs of progress between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — appear.