The president of the North American metalworkers union United Auto Workers (UAW), Shawn Fain, said this Friday that the organization will not extend the strike against the three Detroit automakers for now, but said that more strikes will occur in other factories. without warning, instead of the category that waits every Friday to fold its arms.
“We are entering a new phase of this fight and that requires a new approach,” Fain said in a speech broadcast live on social media. He changed course on Wednesday when he announced the closure of Ford’s pickup and SUV plant in Kentucky, the U.S. automaker’s largest and most profitable operation in the world.
“We will no longer wait until Friday (to start the strike),” he said.
The UAW-organized strike has reached its month mark, with more than 34,000 union members working at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis plants on strike, including those at Ford’s Kentucky plant.
Although Fain warned this Friday of possible strikes at all Detroit automakers, he reserved his harshest words for Ford, which he accused of trying to manipulate negotiations with inadequate offers, which led to Wednesday’s strike.
Referring to Ford CEO Jim Farley’s lucrative pay package, Fain said he should “go get the big checkbook — the one Ford uses when it wants to spend millions on corporate executives or Wall Street gadgets.”
Ford representatives had no comment on the matter.
The automakers more than doubled their initial wage increase offers to between 20% and 23%, agreed to raise wages in line with inflation and improve compensation for temporary workers. However, the UAW defends greater adjustments and other demands.
For the past four weeks, Fain has used Friday speeches to announce further closures or outline progress in negotiations.
The UAW has been negotiating intensely this week with Stellantis, including lengthy talks on Thursday. The entity is discussing with GM the parameters of an agreement to include workers at the company’s battery plants in a broad labor contract.
Stellantis and GM did not comment on the matter.
Wells Fargo analysts estimate that Ford will lose about $150 million a week due to the strike at the Kentucky plant.
Some analysts said the decision to close the Kentucky plant and other high-performance operations at Detroit’s Big Three automakers — GM, Ford and Stellantis — is a sign that the endgame may be beginning in the labor dispute.
“The closing of the Ford plant in Kentucky has begun to increase pressure on GM and Stellantis, who are starting to make progress,” said Arthur Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University.
On Thursday, a senior Ford executive said the automaker was “at the limit” of what it could spend on higher wages and benefits for the UAW. The latest offer included a 23% pay rise until early 2028.
“We have made it clear that we are at the limit,” said Kumar Galhotra, head of Ford’s combustion vehicle unit. “We have fought to get to this point. Going any further would harm our ability to invest in the business.”
Fain responded Friday: “I found this statement pathetically ironic. You know who has reached the limit? The tens of thousands of Ford workers who have no retirement security whatsoever.”
Source: Terra
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