The Big Three autoworkers went on strike and are preventing the EV revolution from happening

The Union Automobile Workers Union (UAW) vs. the Ford, GM and Other Large-Scale Automaker Networks

There are three plants, two of which are part of a Ford plant and the other one is a GM assembly plant.

The strategy is intended to keep companies guessing about how their operations would be disrupted if additional locations are added at a moment’s notice.

“This is our generation’s defining moment,” Fain told UAW members at a Facebook Live event on Thursday night. “The money is there, the cause is righteous, the world is watching.”

Comments on the UAW’s Facebook page range from “What’s the point of a strike if we ALL don’t strike at the same time?!” to “So much for solidarity.” Others voiced concerns that their jobs may be at risk now that their contract has expired.

The UAW has made it a priority to demand that the automakers’ profits be in line with their rank-and-file union members.

The first-ever democratically elected leader of the UAW, Fain has taken a more combative approach to negotiations than his predecessors and was filmed throwing Big Three proposals in the trash.

He has repeatedly doubled down on the union’s key economic demands – including 40% pay raises he says would be in line with CEO wage increases, the restoration of pension and retiree healthcare and cost of living adjustments.

The UAW states that the three automakers collectively have made $21 billion in the first 6 months of the year and the workers want their share.

In a Facebook Live event on Wednesday night, Fain compared the companies’ profits – up 65% over four years – to autoworkers’ pay, which increased just 6% in that same timeframe.

UAW Collective Strikes: How American Automobile Workers Can’t Get Their Wage Payments Despite Their Collective Agreements and Trade Agreements

A prolonged strike poses a potential threat to the U.S. economy. In a scenario in which all of the about 150,000 UAW auto union members were to strike for six weeks, the impact on the economy would amount to shaving an estimated 0.2% off fourth-quarter GDP.

All three automakers have budged on their initial wage proposals, from opening bids of 9 or 10% increases to as high as 20% in the most recent offers. The union argues those offers don’t sufficiently account for years of stagnant wages.

The companies said they’ve tried to reach agreements. General Motors attempted to head off a strike with a down-to-the-wire offer on Thursday afternoon, a proposal CEO Mary Barra called a “compelling and unprecedented economic package.”

The latest GM offer addresses the things the union has said is more important to them than the heated rhetoric, according to the CEO.

The three companies have also put cost of living protections on the table — though the union says these offers wouldn’t provide enough wage protection to keep up with inflation over the next four-and-a-half years.

“If we signed up for the UAW’s requests…we would’ve lost $15 billion and gone bankrupt by now,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNBC on Thursday. “There’s no way we can be sustainable as a company.”

There have been 17 strikes in the U.S. so far this year, according to the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

After months of contentious negotiations that led 340,000 UPS workers to the brink of a strike, the Teamsters union in July secured a 48% average total wage increase, over the course of the five-year contract, for existing part-time workers.

The Allied Pilots Association pushed the airlines to increase their pilots’ remuneration by more than 45% over the course of four years.

GM, Tesla, and the United Automobile Workers: The Case for a “clear winner” for the next decade of EV evolution

The Big Three cars were the preferred choice of many Americans. Today’s market is filled with foreign car companies such as Toyota and Volkswagen that can continue to manufacture cars at a steady clip, even with strike threats.

“They don’t have exceptional leverage because there’s a lot of competition,” said Harry Katz, a professor of collective bargaining at Cornell University, referring to automakers’ ability to shift production to the non-union South or abroad.

Brandon Szcesniak, who works at Ford’s Wayne plant, told the Labor Notes that people are angry. It is like a revolving door. It is a job and not a career anymore. They want us to buy Fords but how can we afford them?

The UAW has been unable to find a place for nonunion workers at the plant. The National Labor Relations Board accused the company of violating labor law when they prevented workers from talking about pay and working conditions. There have been many OSHA complaints against Tesla over the years.

“Lets be clear: this is a potential nightmare situation for GM and Ford as both 313 stalwarts are in the early stages of a massive EV transformation path for the next decade that will define future success,” said Dan Ives of Wedbush. He added that the “clear winner was… Musk and Tesla with champagne now on ice.”

Why the First Three Automakers Were Striked? A Report from AutoForecast’s Sam Fiorani: “It’s a historic occasion to be remembered for you, me, and me”

“This is more of a symbolic strike than an actual damaging one,” Sam Fiorani, a production forecaster at AutoForecast Solutions, told Reuters. But not everyone was in agreement.

Analysts were split on the economic impact of the strike, with some calling it symbolic and others devastating. The struck plants produce some of the automakers’ most profitable models, including the Ford Bronco, the Jeep Wrangler, and the Chevy Colorado pickup.

The strike at the three companies that were taking place at the same time was a historic occasion, it was the first time that had ever happened.

Those plans are now on hold, as Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis workers take to the streets to demand a share of the profits generated by combustion trucks and SUVs as well as stronger job security and better retirement plans.

Ford said that the UAW proposed a counter proposal before the current contract expired, but there was little movement from the previous proposal.

GM CEO Mary Barra noted that the two sides were still far apart on key issues. “We still have a ways to go with the offer they put on the table last night,” Barra said on CBS This Morning on Friday.

Analysts note that the Big Three spend roughly $64–$67 an hour on total labor costs, including benefits, while their nonunion rivals only spend around $55 an hour and Tesla spends $45–$50 an hour.

He said that the big issue for GM and Ford was if a 40% wage increase is approved, then it will be a problem for them as well as investors. Demand for EV’s out of Detroit would be affected by the high costs of the vehicles and mass adoption would lead to churlish demand in our opinion.

Ives, who is bullish on Tesla, predicted that a prolonged strike could push the Big Three automakers to agree to major increases in labor costs, which could then be passed along to the consumer.

He believes that he’s going to hold out. “These big companies don’t understand how much stress and pain we put on our body, and missing our family’s lives.”

Coleman, who makes $19.76 an hour after five and a half years at the Stellantis plant in Toledo, says despite his initial disappointment in the size of the strike, he still has faith in Fain.

The UAW Strikes at Automakers, Making Jeep Wranglers, Gladiators and GM: “It’s All Right,” Replys Bendert

This isn’t a coincidence. These are plants where production volumes are high, which is where consumers want and need these vehicles.

The striking Stellantis plant makes Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators. The Ford plant makes Ford Broncos and Rangers. The GM plant makes a number of vehicles including the Chevy Colorado, the Chevy Canyon and two different vans.

Bendert expressed some concern that the $500-a-week strike pay is far less than his regular paycheck. But, he says, it’ll be worth it if the UAW delivers the contracts workers deserve.

I think Shawn Fain has a good plan, and I trust him right now. I don’t think he’s just doing it off the seat of his pants,” said Kyle Bendert, who works on the engine line at the Ford plant in Wayne, Mich.

There was a sense of anticipation for the weekend, with people cheering and chanting, drivers hooting in support and an occasional heckler shouting at people to get back to work.

As someone who’s followed labor movements for decades, Block says she was intrigued to see Fain choosing to strike all three automakers at once, but limited to one plant at each to start.

“They don’t become at-will employees just because the contract has expired,” says Sharon Block, executive director of Harvard Law’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy.

The UAW released a video ahead of the strike to allay those fears and explained that most of the terms of the contract remain in effect.

“This is going to cause confusion for the companies,” he said earlier this week. It will keep them guessing, and it’s going to boost the power of our negotiators to be as effective as possible.

He said that he thought of Fain as soft. To get back what we’ve lost, he should have hit at least six or 10 major plants and facilities to let them know.

Jerry Coleman, a long-time temporary employee who works at the Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, has been applauded for his hard rhetoric by Fain.

Source: As UAW strike begins, autoworkers want to ‘play hardball’

The Unified Auto Workers (UAW) reaches out to the Big Three automakers: From frustration to fear and apprehension

Autoworkers’ emotions — from excitement to fear and apprehension — are running high as their union, the United Auto Workers, launches an unprecedented strike against the Big Three automakers.