Strike is first against Ford since 1970s

Until this week, the UAW had not gone on strike against Ford Motor Co. since the 1970s.

The union also had never struck all three Detroit automakers at the same time before now. But it has called a number of work stoppages during its 88-year history in quests for better pay, benefits and working conditions.

Here's a look at some of the more notable times when the UAW sent its members onto the picket lines over the years:

2019 General Motors strike: 40 days, 48,000 workers
UAW members walked off the job over concerns including the use of temporary workers and wage tiers, as well as the future of certain U.S. plants. Workers ultimately ratified a four-year contract that included commitments of $7.7 billion in U.S. plants and a way for temporary workers to reach full-time status.

2007 Chrysler strike: 1 day, 45,000 workers
The UAW reached a tentative agreement on a new contract only hours after sending Chrysler worker onto picket lines. The 2007 contracts introduced concessions still at issue today, including lower wages for new hires.

2007 GM strike: 2 days, 73,000 workers
The last round of contract talks before the financial crisis and GM's decision to file for bankruptcy resulted in a short strike over job security, which the union said was the top concern.

1998 GM strike: 54 days, 9,200 workers
A bottleneck strike at two plants in Flint, Mich., shut down about 30 other GM assembly plants and 100 North American parts factories for close to two months, costing the automaker about $2 billion in a dispute over job security concerns.

1997 Chrysler strike: 30 days, 1,900 workers
UAW workers at a Chrysler engine plant went on strike over the company's decision to buy some components from a supplier. It would ricochet into the idling of other parts and assembly plants and thousands more workers.

1994 GM strike: 3 days, 11,500 workers
Workers at GM's Buick City complex in Flint walked off the job over concerns about overtime.

1976 Ford strike: 28 days, 165,000 workers
The UAW struck Ford in a bid for more paid time off, which the union had described as its main priority. This was the union's last national strike against Ford until 2023, though there was a walkout at a Ford tractor plant in 1978.

1970 GM strike: 67 days, 400,000 workers
A strike against GM would reach 145 factories in the U.S. and Canada, as workers sought pay raises and enhancements to cost-of-living adjustments and pension programs.

1967 Ford strike: 68 days, 150,000 workers
The Detroit 3 contracts that resulted from a lengthy strike against Ford included a guaranteed annual income provision that would pay laid-off workers with at least seven years' seniority 95 percent of their pay for a year.

1961 Ford strike: 17 days, 120,000 workers
Negotiators had reached consensus on economic issues before hundreds of thousands of Ford workers walked off the job, according to The New York Times, but disagreements over other issues — skilled trades job classifications, production standards and the use of contractors — sent employees to the picket lines.

1950 Chrysler strike: 104 days, 89,000 workers
For the first time, the UAW paid workers while on strike. Chrysler agreed to the union's primary demand, a funded pension plan providing $100 monthly payments to retirees, but not before losing an estimated $1 billion worth of sales.

1945-46 GM strike: 113 days, 320,000 workers
Walter Reuther was director of the UAW's GM department when he sent workers onto picket lines demanding 30 percent raises. He was only able to get a 17.5 percent out of the company, but the strike soon led to Reuther becoming the union's president, a position he held until his death in 1970. 

1936-37 GM strike: 44 days, 136,000 workers
One of the most significant labor strikes in U.S. history, the sit-down strike in Flint, Mich., would lead GM to formally recognize the UAW.

Lindsay VanHulle and Nick Bunkley contributed to this report.