DETROIT – The United Auto Staff union will expand strikes against General Motors and Ford Motor to 2 U.S. assembly plants at noon ET, UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday.
The extra strikes will goal Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant in Illinois, which produces the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs, and GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant in mid-Michigan that produces the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse crossovers.
The plants are essential ones for the businesses, nevertheless not as profitable or crucial as facilities that produce the automakers’ pickup trucks.
Fain said Chrysler parent Stellantis was spared from additional strikes due to recent progress in negotiations with that company.
“Moments before this broadcast, Stellantis made significant progress on the 2009 cost-of-living allowance, the suitable to not cross a picket line, in addition to the suitable to strike over product commitments and plant closures and outsourcing moratoriums,” said Fain, who was delayed nearly half-hour in making the net announcement. “We’re enthusiastic about this momentum at Stellantis and hope it continues.”
About 6,900 autoworkers will participate in the newest wave of labor stoppages, joining roughly 18,300 employees who’re currently on strike for the union. Which means about 25,200 employees, or roughly 17% of UAW members covered by the expired contracts with the Detroit automakers, will likely be on strike as of noon.
“To revive the balance of power, we now have to revive the strike,” Fain said Friday, citing several other UAW strikes other than the Detroit automakers.
GM in a press release Friday said it had yet to receive a “comprehensive counteroffer” from union leadership to a contract proposal made last week.
“Calling more strikes is only for the headlines, not real progress. The number of individuals negatively impacted by these strikes is growing and includes our customers who buy and love the products we construct,” Gerald Johnson, GM’s head of world manufacturing, said within the statement. “We’re here to succeed in an agreement so we are able to all get back to work, and that continues to be our 100% focus.”
Stellantis, in a press release, said while negotiators have made progress, “gaps remain.” The corporate said it’s “committed to proceed working through these issues in an expeditious manner to succeed in a good and responsible agreement that gets everyone back to work as soon as possible.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley said mid-Friday afternoon the UAW is “holding the deal hostage over battery plants,” calling the extra strike “grossly irresponsible.” He also criticized the union for its targeted strike strategy, saying he feels the actions were “premediated” and insinuating the union was never desirous about reaching a deal before a Sept. 14 deadline.
Fain fired back at Farley, saying the CEO hasn’t been present on the bargaining table and that he’s “lying concerning the state of negotiations.”
The extra strikes come one week after an identical strike expansion. The UAW originally initiated work stoppages on Sept. 15 at three assembly plants — one each for the Detroit automakers. Last week, the union targeted an additional 38 parts and distribution locations operated by GM and Stellantis. At the moment, the UAW spared Ford from expanded strikes, citing progress in those negotiations.
Members of the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) join striking United Auto Staff (UAW) at a rally in front of the Stellantis Mopar facility on September 26, 2023 in Ontario, California.
Gina Ferazzi | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Fain previously said the union would increase the work stoppages, based on progress within the contract negotiations. The talks have spurred frustrations and accusations from each side of the bargaining table.
Before the Friday announcement, GM and Stellantis particularly had grown increasingly frustrated by an absence of participation from Fain and what they said were delays in receiving counterproposals from the union, people aware of the negotiations told CNBC.
Unlike past strikes, UAW leaders opted for targeted strikes at select plants as an alternative of initiating national walkouts. It’s calling the work stoppages “stand-up strikes,” a nod to historic “sit-down” strikes by the UAW within the Nineteen Thirties.
The strategy is in an effort to maintain the automakers on edge in an effort to pit them against each other to realize higher contracts, in line with private messages leaked last week involving the UAW’s communications director.
The messages, which described a method to cause “recurring reputations damage and operational chaos” for the businesses, were heavily criticized by the automakers.
