UAW Strike Expands

by Tim Healey

Published: September 22nd, 2023

The United Automobile Workers union has expanded its strike.

The strike started with three plants -- one for Ford, one for General Motors, and one for Stellantis -- and now the UAW is walking off the job at 38 parts-distribution plants for GM and Stellantis. Ford is being spared, as the union believes it is making more progress in its talks with the Blue Oval.

“We will shut down parts distribution centers until those two companies come to their senses and come to the bargaining table,” union president Shawn Fain was quoted as saying by The New York Times.

Breaking it down by the numbers, the walk-offs will affect 18 GM and 20 Stellantis plants. The GM distribution centers employ 3,475 workers and the Stellantis facilities have 2,150. All told, about 18,000 autoworkers are now on strike.

Fain told the Times that they union isn't "done" with Ford -- meaning no deal has yet been reached with the company -- but also that Ford seemed "serious" about reaching an agreement.

Fain also invited President Joe Biden to join the striking workers on the picket line. Biden has spoken in support of the workers. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, who is running to be elected president again, plans to visit with workers. Typically, the UAW throws its support behind the Democratic party, but it has yet to endorse a candidate for the 2024 election -- in part because of the Biden administration's push to increase the amount of electric vehicles on the market. One of the reasons the UAW is striking is that electric vehicles require fewer people to assemble -- so the UAW is trying to get concessions from automakers in case of a potential shrinking of the workforce.

The leak of internal Twitter, now X, messages from the UAW's PR chief to Fain that suggested glee on the part of the UAW if OEMs were harmed in terms of reputation or operations probably aren't helping to defuse tensions between the sides, though we'd note that of course the union would want to hurt the OEMs if it felt doing so would help its cause. Still, General Motors put out a statement decrying the content of the messages.

The expanded strike could have a ripple affect that would force other plants owned by automakers and suppliers to shutter.

The initial struck plants were a Ford plant in Michigan that produces the Bronco, a GM truck plant in Missouri, and the Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.

The union wants higher wages -- it asked for 40 percent before backing down to 36, while automakers are offering 20. Other demands from the union include a return to pensions and cost-of-living adjustments as well as the elimination of wage tiers.

Finally, the UAW would like fewer working hours (perhaps down to a four-day work week), healthcare plans for retirees that are paid for by the automakers, and a safety net -- along with the right to strike -- for workers who might lose their jobs if a plant closes. They also want to see limits on the use of temp workers.

[Image: TravelEatShoot/Shutterstock.com]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 52 comments

Dusterdude on Sep 24, 2023

@El scotto , I'm aware of the history, I have been in the "working world" for close to 40 years with many of them being in automotive. We have to look at situation in the "big picture". Did UAW make concessions in past ? - yes. Do they deserve an increase now ? -yes . Is their pay increase reasonable given their current compensation package ? Not at all ! By the way - are the automotive CEO's overpaid - definitely! (That is the case in many industries, and a separate topic). As the auto industry slowly but surely moves to EV's , the "big 3" will need to be producing top quality competitive vehicles or they will not survive.

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Arthur Dailey on Sep 25, 2023

Canadian auto workers (UNIFOR) ratified a new deal with Ford. 3 years. 10% wage increase this year, and 2% in year two, and 3% in year three. Plus a cost of living allowance (COLA) and a $10,000 signing bonus per worker. Monthly pension raised to $3,795 after 30 years of service. Hourly wage of $46.13 at the end of the contract for assembly workers.

UNIFOR will now use this when negotiating with GM and Stellantis.

How will the UAW contract stack up.

https://www.unifor.org/news/all-news/unifor-members-ratify-collective-agreement-ford-motor-company

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