DETROIT – The United Auto Workers’ strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers is heating up as it enters its sixth week, and as talks get narrower.
The UAW’s nationwide strike at Stellantis, General Motors and Ford Motor Company has lasted longer than a month without a union-approved deal on the table -- though each company has submitted numerous offers that have inched increasingly closer to the union’s demands. UAW President Shawn Fain said last week that serious progress was made recently, but it’s still not enough to put an end to the picket lines.
The strike grew Monday morning as both sides yearn for an agreement that will allow a return to normalcy. Here’s a breakdown of where things stand in week six of the UAW’s auto strike.
Talks getting closer ...
Over the last few weeks, negotiations between the UAW and the Big Three have appeared to achieve some momentum. Bargaining began in July, and then continued after the strike was initiated on Sept. 15 after the union contracts expired.
In recent weeks, fewer additional strike targets have been announced, and both sides have said talks are progressing. All three automakers have increased their offers, getting closer to -- but not arriving at -- the union’s aggressive list of demands, which include a significant wage increase, cost of living allowances, restoration of pensions, and more.
The UAW is seeking a 36% wage increase, and the companies have all offered wage increases above 20% after initially offering single-digit increases. Carmakers have also agreed to eliminating wage tiers for some workers, improved retirement benefits, and additional options to improve work-life balance for autoworkers.
GM has even agreed to include its electric vehicle battery production under the UAW’s national contract, essentially unionizing those facilities, making a major concession amid an uncertain time for autoworkers. Carmakers are spending billions of dollars in their investment in an EV-focused future, and autoworkers are concerned about their role in that future. GM is the only one of the Big Three to make such a concession.
During his weekly Friday update on Oct. 20, Fain said there was “serious movement” with Stellantis and GM, and that both companies had “put a lot more money on the table.”
The same progress was not said of talks with Ford, however.
Click here to see a breakdown of the deals being offered by each company as of Friday, Oct. 20.
... but is the end near?
Both the UAW and the automakers have expressed their desire to reach an agreement to end the strike as soon as possible. Talks feel even more tense as the strike enters its sixth week, and as more unionized and non unionized facilities are impacted by the strike.
While bargaining has made progress and appears to be approaching its end, officials say there is still work to be done.
The UAW has maintained for months that its goal is to secure a “record contract” for autoworkers amid the companies’ recent “record profits” -- and carmakers argue the latest offers they’ve made would be considered “record” offers. Last week, Fain conceded that the offers on the table are “record” contracts, but said they still aren’t good enough following concessions made by autoworkers during and after the Great Recession.
“There is more to be won,” Fain said. “One thing we’ve been hearing over and over from these companies is how they’ve offered us record contracts. They stole that line from us, by the way, and you know what? We agree. These are already record contracts, but they come at the end of decades of record decline, so it’s not enough to be the best-ever when autoworkers have gone backwards over the last two decades. That’s a very low bar.
“I also find it a pathetic irony that every time they make an offer, it’s the best they can do, it’s a record offer, and then two days later, there’s a new record. What that should tell you is there’s room to move.”
It was difficult to gauge as of Friday which of the three companies were closest to striking a deal. Though GM hasn’t recently been targeted by any new strikes, and it made “serious movement” last week, Fain said the carmaker’s position is “worrying.”
“This week, GM and Stellantis got the message loud and clear,” Fain said on Friday. “They hurried to catch up with Ford, but GM, in particular, is worrying. They tell us they need a two-tiered wage progression because they expect to do a lot of hiring. At the same time, they threaten product and won’t give us the right to strike over plant closures.
“Stellantis has its issues, as well,” Fain said. “They’re still at a four-year progression. They’re still at just $20 for temp workers. They’ve rejected all increases to retiree pay.”
Stellantis had also avoided more strikes in recent weeks -- until Monday, when the UAW announced a strike at the company’s largest plant.
After launching a major strike at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant earlier this month, Fain said the UAW hasn’t received “anything new” from the automaker. Ford has maintained that it has reached its limit in terms of what it can offer the union.
Amid all the tension, though, Fain did say on Friday that the bargaining has reached its “last mile,” indicating that a resolution is on the horizon.
“The bottom line is we’ve got cards left to play, and they’ve got money left to spend. That’s the hardest part of a strike. Right before a deal is when there’s the most aggressive push for that last mile,” Fain said. “They just want to wait us out. They want division. They want fear. They want uncertainty, and what we have is our solidarity.”
---> UAW strike update: ‘Serious movement’ with Stellantis, GM, but ‘there is more to be won’
New Stellantis strike
About 6,800 UAW-represented autoworkers walked out from Stellantis’ Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, the company’s largest plant, on Monday, Oct. 23. The strike expansion brings the total number of striking autoworkers to 40,000, about 27% of the UAW’s 146,000 autoworkers.
The UAW said it chose to expand its strike against Stellantis since the carmaker has the “worst proposal on the table regarding wage progression, temporary worker pay and conversion to full-time, cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), and more.”
The Sterling Heights plant makes Ram pickup trucks, and is the most profitable of Stellantis’ facilities.
When asked by Local 4 if Monday’s strike announcement was a hail Mary move, Fain said it wasn’t. The move is apparently intended to put pressure on the carmaker to reach a deal as soon as possible.
Stellantis said in a statement Monday that it’s “outraged” over the UAW’s decision to declare another strike. The carmaker said it made an offer last Thursday morning, and hasn’t received a counter proposal from the union since.
“Our very strong offer would address member demands and provide immediate financial gains for our employees. Instead, the UAW has decided to cause further harm to the entire automotive industry as well as our local, state and national economies,” the statement reads, in part.
UPDATE: UAW adds GM’s biggest plant to auto strike, taking the Big Three’s most profitable plants offline
More walkouts possible ‘at any time’
Earlier this month, Fain said the union is “no longer waiting until Fridays” to announce additional strike locations, as he did at the beginning of the strike. Instead, Fain said the UAW is entering a new, more aggressive phase of the strike in which autoworkers could be called on to walk out from their Big Three facilities “at any time.”
Fain has not recently announced any additional strikes during his weekly Friday social media updates, in which he discusses the union’s progress with negotiations. Rather, the latest strike additions were announced on Wednesday, Oct. 11, when Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant was added to the strike, and on Monday, Oct. 23, when Stellantis’ Sterling Heights plant was added to the strike.
The union chief said automakers were falling into a pattern of waiting until the last minute to make a new offer before those Friday updates in order to avert a strike. Now, Fain is threatening the carmakers to stay on their toes, saying more strikes could be called whenever the union feels it’s necessary.
After beginning the strike by closing down facilities that make midsize pickup trucks, SUVs, and commercial vans, the union is moving into bigger territory by taking offline major facilities that produce the automakers’ most profitable vehicles, like pickup trucks and large SUVs. The UAW signaled its willingness to go after facilities with more financial impact with its decision to strike at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, the company’s most profitable plant, earlier this month.
The union was preparing to announce a strike at a major GM facility in Texas at the beginning of October, but the automaker’s EV concession helped it avoid that strike. UPDATE: A strike was called at the facility on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
Current strike locations
About 40,000 of the UAW’s 146,000 autoworkers were striking at 45 Big Three facilities as of Monday, Oct. 23.
Below is a list of all the strike locations.
GM
- Wentzville Assembly
- Davison Road Processing Center
- Flint Processing Center
- Lansing Redistribution
- Pontiac Redistribution
- Willow Run Redistribution
- Ypsilanti Processing Center
- Chicago Parts Distribution
- Cincinnati Parts Distribution
- Hudson, Wisconsin Parts Distribution
- Denver Parts Distribution
- Reno Parts Distribution Center
- Rancho Cucamonga Parts Distribution
- Fort Worth Parts Distribution
- Martinsburg, West Virginia Parts Distribution
- Jackson, Mississippi Parts Distribution
- Charlotte, North Carolina Parts Distribution
- Memphis AC Delco Parts Distribution
- Philadelphia Parts Distribution
- Lansing Delta Township plant
Stellantis
- Sterling Heights Assembly Plant
- Toledo Assembly Complex
- Centerline Packaging
- Centerline Warehouse
- Marysville
- Sherwood (Warren)
- Warren Parts
- Quality Engineering Center (Auburn Hills)
- Romulus
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Denver
- Los Angeles
- Portland, Oregon
- Atlanta
- Winchester, Virginia
- Orlando
- Dallas
- New York
- Boston
Ford
- Michigan Assembly Plant (final assembly and paint only)
- Kentucky Truck Plant
- Chicago Assembly Plant