The big three autoworkers are going to go on strike

The United Automobile Workers’ Union (UAW) Strike Plan: Negotiating Deals with Auto Factories, the Stellantis, Ford and GM

UAW members are to be instructed to strike suddenly at auto plants if the industry does not agree to new contracts by midnight on Thursday.

A gradual escalation of the strikes across the three companies, Fain said, would keep Stellantis, Ford and GM on their toes about how their operations would be disrupted, giving the union more leverage.

Only workers at a certain set of plants would walk off the job, while everyone else would keep working under expired contracts.

“It’s going to keep the companies guessing on what might happen next, and it’s going to make our negotiations more effective,” he said.

“We’re living in a time of incredible disparity throughout our society,” he said. We are in a time when the labor movement is being redefined, and we are in a time when our industry is undergoing massive changes.

The pay raise proposals from Ford, GM and Stellantis have all been increased, but to no more than 20%, just half of the union’s 40% ask.

The companies have also rejected the union’s pension and retiree healthcare proposals, according to Fain. Other economic issues, including cost of living adjustments and profit sharing, remain points of contention.

“We do not yet have offers on the table that reflect the sacrifice and contributions our members have made to these companies,” Fain told union members. “To win, we’ll likely have to take action.”

A targeted strike plan has not been practiced by the UAW before. Historically, UAW strikes have involved all union members at a single company walking off the job at once.

In a statement responding to UAW’s strike preparations, Ford CEO Jim Farley said the automaker has put forth four “increasingly generous” offers. Ford remains “ready to reach a deal,” Farley said.

Fain said he, along with other top UAW leaders and Sen. Bernie Sanders, will attend a rally in Detroit on Friday, regardless of how negotiations pan out over the next 24 hours.

The Big Three Auto Workers Are About to Go on Strike — Here’s What’s at stake, says UAW President Elton A. Fain

The impact of a strike could be on car prices. A strike can lead to fewer cars being produced, which can cause prices to rise.

EVs require fewer parts and, thus, fewer workers on the assembly line. The membership of the union has declining over the years, and the leadership is concerned that a huge shift to electric would hurt it.

Meanwhile, the Big Three are pumping billions of dollars into EVs in a race to catch up with Tesla, which employs a nonunion workforce. These investments are being subsidized by the Biden administration, which has put EVs at the center of its efforts to fight climate change.

It’s pretty likely! According to analysts at Evercore ISI and Wedbush Securities, there’s about 85 percent of a strike at all three companies. The union offered a 36 percent wage increase which was less than 40 percent, which indicates that talks are still ongoing. But the two sides still seem far apart on most issues.

Simply put, better pay, shorter working hours, a shift back to traditional pension, the elimination of compensation tiers, and a restoration of cost-of-living adjustments. The auto industry was badly affected by foreign competition and the UAW members have made huge concessions over the last two decades.

Fain was elected president of UAW in March (the first time a UAW president was picked through a democratic vote by the union’s membership) on a promise of “no corruption, no concessions, no tiers,” according to Labor Notes, which likened his election to the shakeup at the Teamsters. With that in mind, Fain has said he will fight for his membership and take his union in a more militant direction.

Source: The ‘Big Three’ autoworkers are about to go on strike — here’s what’s at stake

The autoworkers of the Big Three are about to go on strike — here’s what you are getting at a big profit in the UAW era

Their main concern is the cost gap between themselves and nonunion manufacturing plants in the South owned by foreign companies. They say this puts them at a major disadvantage competitively because it means they’re spending roughly $64-$67 an hour on total labor costs, including benefits, while their rivals only spend around $55 an hour.

Meanwhile, Tesla incurs labor costs of $45 to $50 per hour for its nonunion workforce. The Big Three argue this is why they’ve struggled to keep up with Tesla, which still commands around 60 percent of the EV market in the US.

Good question! This is one of the major arguments put forward by the union. They claim that in years past, they’ve been willing to come to the table to make major concessions to ensure the Big Three stay afloat. Now they say the script is flipped, and at a time when the industry is posting record profits — a combined $21 billion in just the first six months of 2023, according to UAW — the companies are unwilling to share the success with the workforce.

The New York Times reported that Fain called the shift to electric vehicles a race to the bottom in an internal memo.

The owner of a car dealership on social media wrote that he hopes the issue is resolved before it reaches that point. “But tbh, I highly doubt it.”

Source: The ‘Big Three’ autoworkers are about to go on strike — here’s what’s at stake

The Fundamental Power of a Strike: What Does It Cost to Stop Our Race to the Bottom? A Facebook Live Comment on September 8th

Often, the cost of a strike is portrayed in terms of its effect on a state or nation’s economic output. A 10-day strike could cost US gross domestic product by $5.3 billion, and push Michigan’s economy into a recession.

The cost of doing nothing is higher according to the union. “Corporations want us to believe there’s nothing we can do to stop our race to the bottom,” Fain said in a Facebook Live video on September 8th. “Never forget that when our labor isn’t valued, we have the power to withhold it. There is a fundamental power to a strike. The cost of a strike might be high, but the cost of doing nothing is much higher.”