Striking United Auto Staff (UAW) members from the General Motors Lansing Delta Plant picket in Delta Township, Michigan September 29, 2023.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
DETROIT – The United Auto Staff union believes there may be “more to be won” in ongoing contract negotiations with the Detroit automakers following five weeks of labor strikes against the businesses, UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday.
His comments come despite record contract offers from General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis that now include 23% hourly pay increases in the course of the terms of the 4 and a half-year deal.
“There may be more to be won,” Fain said during an internet broadcast. “These are already record contracts, but they arrive at the tip of many years of record decline. So it isn’t enough to be the most effective ever, when auto staff have gone backwards during the last twenty years. That is a really low bar.”
Last week Fain said the union was initiating a “recent phase” of strikes and contract negotiations. Still, the union has not announced any additional strikes since initiating an unexpected walkout on Oct. 11 at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant that produces highly profitable pickup trucks and SUVs.
The UAW hasn’t expanded strikes at GM since Sept. 29 or at Stellantis since Sept. 22.
The strike at Ford’s Kentucky plant — chargeable for $25 billion in revenue annually — marked a significant escalation within the UAW’s targeted, or “stand-up,” strikes. It also represents a shift in strategy, as Fain had previously publicly announced the targets before the work stoppages occurred.
The UAW has been step by step increasing the strikes because the work stoppages began after the perimeters failed to succeed in tentative agreements by Sept 14.
About 34,000 U.S. automakers with the businesses, or roughly 23% of UAW members covered by the expired contracts with the Detroit automakers, were on strike.
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