[1/3]UAW President Sean Fine chairs the 2023 Special Election Collective Bargaining Conference in Detroit, Michigan, US, March 27, 2023. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo Obtaining licensing rights
September 13 (Reuters) – The union is preparing to strike against the Detroit Three automakers, one day before four-year labor contracts expire Thursday evening, United Auto Workers (UAW) President Sean Fine said on Wednesday.
The three Detroit automakers have offered pay increases of up to 20% over four and a half years, but called the increases insufficient, Fine said.
The coordinated strikes would mark the first-ever simultaneous strike by workers at all three Detroit automakers and one of the largest industrial labor protests in the United States in recent years.
“We are making progress but remain very far apart on our key priorities,” Fine said in a Facebook Live address.
Fine said Ford Motor Company proposed a 20% pay increase, General Motors 18%, and Stellantis, Chrysler’s parent company, 17.5%. That’s less than half of the 40% pay increases the union sought — including an immediate 20% raise upon ratification of the contract and a 5% annual increase.
Fine outlined a strategy to “create confusion” for the Detroit Three automakers through a series of strikes targeting individual U.S. factories if an agreement is not reached.
Reuters reported late Tuesday that the union may opt to strike at targeted auto plants if it fails to reach new contracts covering 146,000 American auto workers.
A UAW strike shutting down Detroit’s three plants could cost automakers, suppliers and workers more than $5 billion, according to estimates by Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group, and could disrupt the broader network of auto suppliers.
Stellantis confirmed on Wednesday that it had submitted a third bid.
“We are awaiting their response to this latest offer,” the company said in an email to employees. “Our focus remains on negotiating in good faith to get a tentative agreement on the table before tomorrow’s deadline.”
Stellantis said last week that it had offered U.S. hourly workers a 14.5% pay increase over four years, while GM offered workers a 10% pay increase and two additional annual lump sum payments of 3% over four years. Stellantis last week did not provide additional lump sum payments.
US President Joe Biden “encouraged the parties to stay at the table and work 24/7 to reach a win-win agreement that keeps UAW workers at the heart of our automotive future,” White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said on Wednesday.
Biden called top executives from the three automakers last week “to encourage them to make more future offers to stay at the table,” Bernstein added.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler told Reuters that auto workers do not want to strike “but will do so if they have to in order to reach a fair agreement.”
Schuler noted that there have been more than 200 raids this year in the United States. “The reason is that the economy is broken,” she said. “And the workers are fed up.”
The UAW and GM will meet on Wednesday in a new round of bargaining, the sources said.
A Detroit Rally is planned
The UAW said it is planning a rally in Detroit on Friday that will include Fine, Sen. Bernie Sanders and other members of Congress to coincide with the first day of strikes.
The UAW is initially considering targeting only a few specific plants for work stoppages at the three Detroit automakers, two sources familiar with the matter said, adding that the strike plan may change.
Targeting strategic plants could quickly force automakers to halt U.S. production and could extend the time before the UAW’s $825 million strike fund is exhausted.
The UAW initially sought a 20% wage increase upon ratification and four annual 5% increases, but has offered to scale back those increases to about 36% in total, three sources told Reuters. The union is still seeking an overall raise of 40%, Fine said. “We’ve reached 40%, and that’s our requirement,” Fine told CNBC.
Last week, Ford raised its offer to a 10% wage increase and lump sum payments after offering a 9% wage increase through 2027 and 6% lump sum payments.
The union’s demands include the restoration of fixed-rate pensions for all workers, 32-hour work weeks, an additional cost of living increase, as well as job security guarantees and an end to the use of temporary workers.
David Shepardson reports. Edited by Christina Fincher, Nick Zieminski and Debba Babington
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