As expected, Detroit automaker Stellantis on Friday announced its counter offer to demands made by the United Auto Workers union. What perhaps wasn’t expected, but might’ve been assumed, was the union’s negative response to the proposal.
Stellantis on Friday, Sept. 8, shared details from its counter proposal to the UAW, in which the company is offering a slightly bigger wage increase than GM and Ford offered, in addition to other payments. Most notably, the offer includes a 14.5% wage increase for most employees over four years, several “inflation protection payments,” and a wage increase for supplemental employees.
The wage increase offered by Stellantis outshines those proposed by Ford and GM, which offered 9% and 10% wage increases, respectively, over the course of the four-year contract -- but it wasn’t enough to appease the union, which has maintained an unwavering stance on its demands during this year’s negotiations.
“Stellantis is by far the richest of the Big Three automakers. They have the biggest profits, and the biggest profit margins. They have the most revenue. They have the most cash,” the UAW wrote on Twitter/X in response to Stellantis’ proposal. “They made $12 billion in profits in the first six months of 2023. Last year they gave Wall Street $4.5 billion in stock buybacks and dividends. Their CEO Carlos Tavares was paid $24.8 million last year.
“They have the money. They just don’t want Stellantis workers to get our fair share.”
The UAW has been waiting to hear back from Stellantis, the Big Three automaker that union President Shawn Fain has been most vocal about during this year’s talks, citing the company’s higher profit margins. The union said Friday afternoon that Stellantis’ counter proposal essentially rejects all of the demands outlined by the UAW weeks ago.
Fain said earlier this week that he understands he’ll have to lose out on some demands in order to reach a deal. But, he has since denounced each of the company’s counter offers, calling the proposals from Ford Motor Company and General Motors “insulting.”
The counter proposals offered by the Big Three this week and last come just before the Sept. 14 contract deadline, giving the parties only days to reach a deal before a potential strike. Fain warned earlier this week that auto workers will strike at any of the Big Three automakers that hasn’t reached a deal by the deadline.
Last week, the UAW filed unfair labor practice complaints against Stellantis and GM, accusing them of intentionally delaying the bargaining process. Both automakers called the allegations surprising and untrue, but both of them promised to share counter proposals after the allegations were made.
Ford announced a counter proposal last week, which was quickly shot down by Fain, who said the company’s wage proposal insults the union’s “very worth.” GM proposed its counter offer on Thursday, Sept. 7, which Fain also quickly dismissed, telling GM to “quit wasting” union members’ time.
Stellantis’ counter offer made Friday fell in line with the other proposals, despite the slightly large wage increase offered.
“The auto workers and working people in this country know what’s really going on; we live it,” Fain said in a Facebook video posted Thursday night. “We know firsthand what it’s like to not be able to afford the cars we produce. We know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck while the companies we work for make out like bandits.”
Fain was expected to address UAW members in a Facebook Live update Friday afternoon.
The UAW president has consistently said that the union’s goal is not to strike, but that it will in order to reach an agreement that members approve of. Fain said Wednesday that he’s still hoping to make a deal with Ford, GM and Stellantis before the 11:59 p.m. deadline on Thursday, Sept. 14.
Fain also said this week that he’s willing to be more flexible on the union’s demands in order to reach a deal -- a less aggressive message than the one he has pushed for several weeks. But still, the UAW has many demands this year, including a more than 40% wage increase, an end to tiered wages, cost of living adjustments, reinstated pensions, and more.
Under Fain’s leadership, the UAW has maintained a steady resolve and focus on achieving better pay, benefits and work-life balance. Nearly all of the 146,000 auto workers represented by the union have voted to authorize a strike, should leaders deem it necessary.
According to the UAW’s calculations, the Big Three made a combined total of $21 billion in profit in the first half of 2023, and a combined $250 billion in American profits in the last 10 years. Those profits, Fain says, have not translated to sufficient pay or benefits for auto workers in the same way they have for executives.
“In the last four years, the price of vehicles went up 30%,” Fain told the AP. “Our wages went up 6%. There were billions of dollars in shareholder dividends. So our wages aren’t the problem.”
If a national strike is called at each of the Big Three simultaneously, it would be for the first time in history.
Read more: UAW last went on strike in 2019: Here’s what happened, how things have changed since