FLINT — In an emotional scene Sunday morning, UAW autoworkers passed picketing janitors represented by the same union just hours after the maintenance workers went on strike in an escalation of already-tense contract talks.

"This isn't what solidarity looks like," one autoworker said as he dropped off food to the janitors before reporting for his shift, which started just before 7 a.m.

The autoworkers are General Motors employees and the UAW told them to report to work Sunday even though the union's contract with GM expired at 11:59 p.m. Saturday. The union's leadership was to meet at 10 a.m. Sunday in Detroit to decide on next steps.

The janitors work for Aramark, with which GM contracts for maintenance at five plants in Michigan and Ohio. About 850 UAW-represented Aramark workers sent on strike at midnight.

Autoworkers honked, delivered food and drinks, and cursed about the situation as more than a dozen janitors picketed outside the plant, which makes highly profitable Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. One autoworker appeared to be on the verge of tears as he went to work.

"They've segregated us away from GM," said Jon Lyttle, 36, of Flint, one of the janitors. "We're one union. Everything should be done together. We're supposed to be brothers and sisters.

"I'm happy with the union and fighting for my rights," he added. "I'm happy to be part of this piece of history."

Adrian "Sparty" Jones, 58, of Flint said the autoworkers were in a tough spot as they await directions. "We're the front line," she said. "They'll join us."

The janitors, who have worked without a contract since March 2018, said they are paid $15-16 an hour. The UAW, in announcing the strike shortly after midnight, said the janitors' key issues involve wages, caps on health insurance, vacation time and 401(k) plans.

As the UAW negotiated with GM for an autoworker contract, it told Aramark last week that the contract extension for the janitors would end at the same time the contract with GM expired.

More:UAW-represented janitors at some GM plants go on strike; impact on auto production unclear

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While the union said Saturday that autoworkers would report for shifts Sunday, the janitor strike was "a potentially significant escalation," Harley Shaiken, a labor expert at the University of California, Berkley, told the Free Press shortly after midnight.

At least one Flint Assembly autoworker said he wouldn't cross the janitors' picket line.

“In my opinion, crossing the picket line makes you a scab," said Sean Crawford, who joined the janitors and then drove to Detroit to be among a small group of UAW protesters gathered outside General Motors headquarters.

He was scheduled to work from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. but called in to take a personal day.

“The picket line is sacred," said Crawford. “That’s the meaning of solidarity.”

Crawford said GM cares about money over workers’ welfare. “We have people in their 20s who have arthritis because of the repetitive nature of the job on the assembly line,” he said.

Another worker who asked that her name not be used was going to work in Flint, but said, “I’m not happy right now. Aramark is out front picketing. Union leadership said we have to come here until we find out what happens after that 10 a.m. meeting. As of right now, we’re rolling.”

Steve Gruener, president of UAW Local 659, which represents Flint Assembly workers including the striking janitors, met with his team at the union hall across from Flint Assembly early Sunday. He said financial secretary Duane Ballard has been on site all night. Gruener arrived at around 4:30 a.m. By 8:30 a.m., he was heading to Detroit for the big 10 o’clock meeting to learn next steps.

“Our workers are upbeat and they understand why they are on strike to get a fair and equitable contract,” Gruener said.

He was organizing six-hour picket shifts.

“I’m kind of melancholy. I’m doing what needs to be done to support members, with food and water. I’m really focused right now. This is all new and we’re reacting,” he said.

How long the strike lasts is "all on the company,” Gruener said. “We’re there to bargain. We’ll do what needs to be done to get a fair and equitable contract for members.”

“I was a little surprised,” he said about the decision for janitors to strike immediately after midnight. "But I fully support our leadership."

Janitors' jobs

John Wineland, 31, of Grand Blanc said the maintenance workers' job is dangerous, offering the example of what it takes to clean equipment that carries trucks through the plant's paint shop.

"If we get hit with the water, we will get an infection," he said. The water pressure is such "it can literally cut your foot off.

"Blasting is a two-man job. One person blasts, one person sits outside in a safe zone to call for help if anything happens to shut off the water."

Added Carl Shehorn III, 40, of Burton, "We're fighting for our rights and future generations. We're underpaid. We make $15 an hour. We maintain their equipment. We maintain their robots and conveyors. I'm the fourth generation to work at this factory."

The Aramark employees' work is key to plant operations, but GM said it had contingency plans in place to avoid production disruptions.

Aramark manages service jobs at five GM sites: Flint Assembly, Flint Engine Operations, Flint Metal Center; the Metal Center Parma, Ohio, and the Technical Center in Warren.

Autoworker talks

Regarding the autoworker contract with GM, UAW leadership told members Saturday that "significant differences" remained over key issues and bargaining would continue up to the deadline.

In a letter sent to union officers Saturday evening, Terry Dittes, vice president for the UAW General Motors Department, said the contract with GM would not be extended, but no immediate autoworker strike was contemplated.

"No decisions or actions will be taken" until after a National Council meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. in Detroit, the letter said.

In the letter obtained by the Free Press, Dittes reported "some progress" in negotiations since his last update some nine days ago.

But, "We still have many outstanding issues remaining, including significant differences between the parties on wages, health care benefits, temporary employees, job security and profit sharing."

General Motors said in a statement: “We continue to work hard on solutions to some very difficult challenges. We are prepared to negotiate around the clock because there are thousands of GM families and their communities — and many thousands more at our dealerships and suppliers — counting on us for their livelihood."

The UAW, which represents nearly 150,000 hourly workers at GM, Ford and FCA, has chosen to negotiate a new contract first with GM. That deal will serve as a template for the UAW's later talks with the other two.

UAW local leaders have been outlining to members the procedure to follow if they are told to strike.

Corruption probe

The talks are playing out against the backdrop of a federal corruption investigation now touching the highest levels of the union. Charges against regional director Vance Pearson implicated UAW President Gary Jones and immediate past President Dennis Williams in the misuse of union money.

The union negotiates a new contract with the automakers every four years. In 2015 the UAW chose to lead with FCA. If the UAW leadership believes it must strike, members at all three companies have voted to authorize one.

The bargaining with GM has progressed methodically. Both sides faced a lot of issues at the table.

The UAW's rank and file want a base wage increase. They also seek to protect benefits and to narrow the wage gap between workers hired after 2007 compared with those who've worked at GM before 2007. They also want to establish a plan for temporary employees to go permanent, among other things.

But job security is critical too, given GM's November 2018 announcement that it would idle four U.S. plants. The UAW has vowed to leave no stone unturned in fighting to get new product to build in those plants, which include Lordstown Assembly in Ohio, Detroit-Hamtramck and transmission plants in Warren and Baltimore. Detroit-Hamtramck is the only one continuing to operate, but GM plans to shut it down in January.

For its part, GM and other automakers seek to control costs amid trade and tariff uncertainties, unclear fuel economy standards and a predicted economic downturn on the horizon that could hurt sales. Health care costs are some of the highest for automakers and that also remains an issue.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-222-6512or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Jamie LaReau contributed to this report.