Striking auto workers want fairer pay – and a cleaner union

On this warm September afternoon the passing cars and trucks honk their horns in solidarity. The knot of union workers cheer and wave their blue-and-white picket signs. It’s the first strike by the United Auto Workers in 12 years and spirits are high.

“We’ve had a lot of support,” says John Paul, a machinist at General Motors’ powertrain plant here in Romulus, Michigan, outside Detroit.

But a cloud hangs over this strike that makes it difficult to discern its ultimate resolution. For the first time in its history, the UAW is negotiating