DETROIT – The president of the United Auto Workers union on Friday will provide an update on negotiations with Detroit’s Big Three automakers, just hours after unexpectedly adding a major facility to their ongoing auto strike.
The union is warning that UAW President Shawn Fain may take “further action if needed” during Friday’s bargaining update, which Fain has provided each week since the auto strike began. Fain has used two of the last three Friday announcements to disclose additional strike locations since union leaders felt negotiations didn’t progress enough those weeks.
The announcement is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13. We’ll have it live for you online and on Local 4+.
It’s all part of the union’s new strike strategy, in which strikes are being targeted at increasingly valuable automotive facilities in an effort to create leverage amid ongoing talks with General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Stellantis. The union is hoping to expedite the talks that began in July, and push automakers closer to their list of demands, which include a significant wage hike, pension restoration, an end to wage tiers, and other benefits.
So far, the UAW has shut down facilities that make midsize pickup trucks, SUVs and commercial vans, and has allowed automakers to continue producing pickup trucks and large SUVs, their most profitable vehicles. However, the union could be moving into bigger territory soon by calling for strikes at facilities that make more profitable vehicles.
In an unexpected move, the UAW did just that on Wednesday: A strike was called at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, adding about 9,000 autoworkers to the nationwide effort. Fain told Local 4 Wednesday that the UAW felt it had “no option but to escalate” its strike against Ford after the company made “the same offer” it made two weeks ago.
“It’s frustrating, we have been at the table every day ... working so hard to bring an equitable and fair agreement to the membership,” Fain said. “They ask us to meet tonight, we went to meet, and they give us the same offer that they gave us two weeks ago -- really no progress.”
Fain said last week that GM just barely averted a similar strike at its Arlington Assembly plant in Texas, the company’s “largest money maker” that employs over 5,000 people. The union opted not to expand the strike to include that facility last week since talks were making progress -- and especially since GM agreed to include electric vehicle battery production under the union’s national contract in a major win for autoworkers.
---> UAW: GM to include EV battery production in US contract in huge win for autoworkers
With the strike in its fourth week, about 34,000 of the UAW’s 146,000 autoworkers were striking at 44 facilities as of Thursday. That number could grow on Friday if union leaders find it necessary to push the automakers even more. It’s clear the union is displeased with its progress with Ford, but it wasn’t entirely clear Thursday if more progress had been made this week with GM or Stellantis.
So far, the UAW has not reached a deal with any of the companies.
Ford said Wednesday that the Kentucky strike “carries serious consequences for our workforce, suppliers, dealers and commercial customers.” Ford, GM and Stellantis have all announced layoffs amid the strike, citing complications that it has caused. Fain argues the Big Three has more than enough money to keep everyone on their payroll during the strike.