Last week, the union reported progress in the talks and decided not to add any more plants. Thus far, the union has decided to target a small number of plants from each company rather than have all 146,000 UAW members at the automakers go on strike at the same time. The Kentucky strike brings to 33,700 the number of workers on strike against the three automakers. Assembly plants from Ford and GM were added the week after that. 22, adding 38 GM and Stellantis parts warehouses. “I think the issues that remain on the table are quite thorny,” he said, pointing to union demands that all workers get defined benefit pensions and health insurance when they retire. The union’s move doesn’t leave him optimistic for a quick end to the strikes, Masters said. The companies, he said, “may have reached their resistance points to varying degrees.” Executives, he said, have bottom line positions they can’t cross in terms of staying competitive with other automakers.įain, Masters said, likely is testing how far he needs to push Ford before going to “full throttle,” by taking all 57,000 Ford members out on strike. The significant escalation against Ford shows that Fain is trying to increase pressure on the company, said Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University who follows labor issues.īut Ford and the other automakers have made concessions and raised wage offers, he said. Then Fain and Vice President Chuck Browning called local leaders and the strike began a short time later, the official said. The meeting only lasted about 15 minutes, he said.Ī UAW official said that Ford has been saying for two weeks that it would add to its economic offer, but at the meeting Wednesday, the company presented the same offer it made earlier. Fain was told the company put a strong offer on the table, but there wasn’t a lot of room to increase it and keep it affordable for the business, the executive said.įain responded by saying, if that’s the company’s best offer, “You just lost Kentucky Truck Plant,” said the executive. But they didn’t have a significantly different economic offer, the executive said. High-ranking Ford executives responded that they are working on possibly bringing electric vehicle battery plants into the UAW national contract, essentially making them unionized. In a statement, Ford called the strike expansion “grossly irresponsible” but said it wasn’t surprising given the UAW leadership’s statements that it wanted to keep Detroit automakers hobbled with “industrial chaos.”Ī Ford executive said the union set up a meeting at the company’s Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters Wednesday afternoon where Fain asked if the company had another offer. 15, with one assembly plant from each company. The strike came nearly four weeks after the union began its walkouts against General Motors, Ford and Jeep maker Stellantis on Sept. “If they can’t understand that after four weeks, the 8,700 workers shutting down this extremely profitable plant will help them understand it,” Fain said. The UAW contends that the furloughs by Detroit's three automakers were not necessary and are being done in an effort to push members to accept less in contract negotiations. File - Striking United Auto Workers members Rob Marchese, left, and Neil Peters picket at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex on Oct. UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement that the union has waited long enough “but Ford hasn’t gotten the message” to bargain for a fair contract. The sprawling factory makes pricey heavy-duty F-Series pickup trucks and large Ford and Lincoln SUVs. took down the largest and most profitable Ford plant in the world. Free Press 101: How we practise journalismĭETROIT (AP) - The United Auto Workers union significantly escalated its strikes against Detroit Three automakers Wednesday when 8,700 workers walked off their jobs at Ford’s Kentucky truck plant.
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