TOLEDO — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, visited striking UAW workers on the picket line at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex on Friday.

Autoworkers in Ohio and across the country went on strike that morning.

“Today. Ohioans stand in solidarity with autoworkers around our state as they demand the Big 3 automakers respect the work they do to make these companies successful,” Brown said. “Any union family knows that a strike is always a last resort — autoworkers want to be on the job, not on the picket line. UAW workers made sacrifices to save the American auto industry. Now the Big 3 are making record profits — all workers are asking for is their fair share. The companies need to bargain in good faith and agree to a fair contract that honors the Dignity of Work.”

Brown’s office said on Thursday, on the Senate Floor, the senator “urged GM, Ford, and Stellantis to avert a strike and agree to a fair contract that honors the Dignity of Work and recognizes the contributions Ohio autoworkers make that enabled these companies to earn $21 billion in profits the first half of this year alone.”

Brown met Friday with workers and local labor leaders to listen to their stories at the picket line and at UAW Local 12.