Read our editorial on the significance of strikes here.
More than a thousand workers at the Bradford White water heater plant walked off the job on September 16 in Middleville, Michigan, fighting for higher wages and better benefits after rejecting the company’s last proposed contract by 95%. The workers are organized with United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 1002.
Workers have maintained picket lines at both entrances of the sprawling manufacturing facility, as well as a shipping center nearby. On September 30, a scab for Bradford White drove through picketers, hitting two workers. Both workers were immediately hospitalized and have since recovered. Another scab had previously driven into another picketer, Dollie Gilbert, on September 23.
The police have not brought any charges against Bradford White or the scabs following either of the incidents. The UAW has not made any statements on the attacks.
Workers went on strike after their contract expired on September 1 and a 15-day negotiation extension failed to meet their demands.
The main demands of the strikers include higher wages, more paid time off, keeping spouses on insurance, and ending the company’s use of temporary non-union workers, which erodes the strength of the union and worsens worker pay and conditions. Workers currently report being forced to work 50-60 hour weeks.
Bradford White’s proposed contract removes insurance coverage of spouses, continues the use of temporary non-union workers, and keeps the existing wage scale, between $18.50 to $21 an hour.
The company said on October 1 it wants to reach an agreement, but has not made concessions to the workers’ demands. Randy Tobias, chair of the local bargaining committee, told local media Channel 8, “they’ve taken enough concessions throughout the years that we’re ready to stop giving in and start earning what’s ours”.
The last time workers walked off the job at the Middleville plant was 1978.
Union leadership has colluded with Bradford White for decades in wresting concessions from workers for the benefit of the company—part of a broader trend of the labor aristocracy to help shore up the profitability of the monopolies under the guise of protecting jobs.
The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) report from June 2026 shows that US shipments of residential gas-storage water heaters decreased 5.4% from May 2025 to May 2026, while residential electric storage water heater shipments decreased 6.6% during the same period.
Bradford White recently purchased its thirty-year supplier, Bock Water Heaters, the leading manufacturer of oil-fired water heaters in April 2025, to expand its market share and further centralize its supply chain.
Image: Bradford White workers on strike in Middleville, Michigan, on September 16. Credit: Retrieved from UAW Region 1-D Facebook page.
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