The United Auto Workers union is in the early days of its strike but has already said that if demands are not met soon, then it will continue to strike as long as necessary, and even expand the strike. Currently, employees from three different plants are striking, but the strike will spread to more if contract negotiations do not make great progress by the end of the week. The President of the union, Shawn Fain, announced in his statement that the companies had until 12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today to make serious progress in the negotiations. If this is not done, Fain said the union will hold a meeting today to announce the next facilities on strike to its union members.
Currently, the main companies affected by the strike are Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
The companies have each made various statements expressing their wants to settle the disputes and end the strike already. The chief operating officer of Stellantis, Mark Stewart, said he hopes that the union and the automaker can come to an agreement by Friday, as requested. General Motors said that they are continuing their bargaining with the union. A spokesperson from Ford gave very little in terms of details, only saying that negotiations are ongoing.
A second union that works with the “Detroit Three” automakers is undergoing negotiations at the same time as the United Auto Workers union. This second union is Canadian-based and known as Unifor. It has not yet announced a strike, instead privately negotiating for the time being. The union reached an agreement with Ford and is using that now as a guide for its negotiations with General Motors and Stellantis.
The federal government is getting involved in the negotiations between the United Auto Workers and the big three. The Labor Secretary, Julie Su, along with the senior advisor to Detroit, Gene Sperling, were expected to meet with the two parties and, ideally, act as a liaison. This plan is no longer in action since the union and the Detroit Three are in active negotiation. This comes after President Joe Biden announced his support for the union and his goal to have federal officials present to offer them support.
Many people actually opposed the President and his advisors’ involvement; union president, Fain, even saying, “This battle is not about the president.”
The current count of 13,000 workers striking is expected to expand soon if demands are met. The union’s demands include a 30% pay increase over four years which would account for a share of record profits being distributed to workers. Each Ford, GM, and Stellantis say they cannot afford that while they are working toward investment into electric vehicles.
