The attitude of the labor dispute between the United Auto Workers and two of the Detroit’s Big Three carmakers took a turn for the worse Friday, even as the union saw progress with one company.
The UAW escalated its strike against Ford and General Motors, walking out of a Ford plant in Chicago and a GM factory in Lansing, Mich. UAW President Shawn Fain and Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley also exchanged criticisms over the state of their negotiations for a new labor contract, which just a week ago appeared to be making progress.
The UAW spared Stellantis from the strike escalation Friday, citing progress in talks with the company. But on Thursday the UAW and Stellantis traded allegations of violent and dangerous behavior on the picket line.
The hostility, and hesitant signs of progress, come as the UAW’s historic strike against the Big Three enters its third week, and now involves about 25,000 of the UAW’s 150,000 autoworker members. The union has demanded a 36 percent wage increase over four years and other benefits, and threatens to keep escalating the work stoppage until it gets what it desires. The automakers say they’ve made significant offers but warn that substantially higher labor costs will harm their ability to compete with rivals.
Signs of tension mounted Friday, as Farley called the union “grossly irresponsible” for widening the strike and rejecting the “record” deal Ford has offered. On a conference call with reporters, he said that deal includes wage increases of “more than 20 percent” over four years, cost-of-living allowances, higher contributions to retirement benefits and other benefits.
Farley accused the union of delaying the deal with demands related to four planned battery factories that will supply future electric vehicles. The union wants those factories included in the UAW’s main national contract with Ford, a step that the company views as premature because the plants won’t be built and staffed for two to three years, Farley said.
The company and union are very close on pay and benefits, he said, “but so far the UAW is holding the deal hostage over battery plants.” He also accused the union of having had a “premeditated” intent to strike all along, and criticized Fain’s frequent media appearances, saying the UAW president “has been on the TV more than Jake at State Farm.”
Fain in response accused Farley of “misrepresenting the state of negotiations,” saying that the two sides are “far apart on core economic proposals like retirement security and post-retirement health care, as well as job security in this EV transition.” The union has concerns that pay and benefits at new EV plants and battery factories will be worse.
A last-minute proposal from Stellantis on Friday morning offered enough progress for the union to hold off on widening its work stoppage against the Jeep maker for now, Fain said. The company made new offers on cost-of-living adjustments to wages, on workers’ right to strike over plant closures and other matters, Fain said in a Facebook Live address.
“We are encouraged by this progress at Stellantis and hope it continues,” Fain said. He added that “Ford and GM have refused to make significant progress at the table,” though he said talks continue.
Stellantis said it has made progress in negotiations “but differences remain.” It said it is working “intensely” to complete a deal with the union.
The GM factory in Lansing builds the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave and employs 2,300 UAW members, GM said. Ford’s Chicago factory is one of the city’s largest manufacturers, employing about 5,700 hourly workers, according to Ford’s website. The plant produces the Ford Explorer and the Lincoln Aviator.
Gerald Johnson, head of global manufacturing at GM, said company negotiators “still have not received a comprehensive alternative offer from UAW leadership to our latest proposal made on Sept. 21.”
GM CEO Mary Barra accused Fain of “escalating the language and dramatics.”
“It is evident that Shawn Fain wants to create a legacy for himself, but it cannot be at the expense of our represented team members and the industry,” Barra said in a statement. “The UAW is creating division between the companies, but it is a strategy that ultimately only benefits the non-union competition.”
With Friday’s announcement, approximately 17 percent of the union’s autoworker members are now participating in the work stoppage, spanning across 43 warehouses and factories in 21 states. The UAW is attempting to stretch its $825 million strike fund by prolonging its walkouts as much as possible.
The strike this week attracted President Biden to a picket line in Michigan, where he joined UAW workers advocating for better pay and benefits.
On Thursday, the union accused GM and Stellantis of “facilitating” attacks on protesting workers. Stellantis, on its part, also accused union members of engaging in “dangerous” and “violent” behavior on the picket line.
In a video on Thursday, Fain stated that a nonunion contractor driving an SUV struck five picketers while leaving a GM parts depot in Flint, Mich. Two of the workers were taken to the hospital for treatment. The driver fled in the SUV, according to Fain.
At a Stellantis parts depot in California, nonunion truckers crossing the picket line have brandished firearms at strikers, Fain claimed. In Massachusetts, a UAW member and a state senator were struck by “vehicles on the picket line,” Fain said, without specifying whether the drivers were affiliated with the automaker.
Stellantis expressed its dismay on Thursday at the UAW’s portrayal of the incidents and accused union members of engaging in dangerous and violent behavior.
At several facilities, union members have been “slashing truck tires, jumping on vehicles, following people home, and hurling racial slurs at dedicated Stellantis employees who are simply crossing the picket line to perform their jobs,” the company stated on Thursday. Stellantis accused Fain of making “misleading and inflammatory statements, which will only escalate the situation.” The UAW did not respond to a request for comment regarding that accusation.
GM stated on Thursday that a third-party housekeeping contractor is suspected of striking five picketing employees with his vehicle while attempting to leave the Flint facility. GM stated that it is cooperating with local investigators and has banned the suspects from its premises.
The company also accused Fain of making certain “false” allegations about picketing safety and claimed that he was “prioritizing provocative rhetoric over sincere efforts to reach an agreement.”
An expanded work stoppage among the Big Three automakers will worsen disruptions to an industry that accounts for approximately 3 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.
The duration of the strike will have significant implications, according to Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, who spoke on Thursday at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. The Chicago Fed serves a seven-state Midwestern region that is home to many of the Big Three auto factories.
Past strikes have demonstrated that if the work stoppage is brief, lasting a month or less, it has minimal impact on GDP, Goolsbee explained. “The longer it persists and the more it spreads across multiple companies, the greater the short-term impact,” he added.
Historically, strikes have not had a substantial effect on inflation, Goolsbee noted. However, he stated that his team is closely monitoring the inventory of vehicles in the market. “We observed during the COVID-19 period that when there is extremely low inventory, it can result in significant short-term fluctuations inthe prices of both used and new cars,” Goolsbee said. “And we are trying to understand if this strike were to be extended, would we witness a different dynamic compared to previous strikes.”