The strike of workers from the “Big Three” of the United States automotive sector expanded this Friday at General Motors and Stellantis, while President Joe Biden announced that he will join the workers’ pickets next Tuesday.
About 5,600 members of the United Auto Workers union left 38 distribution centers and spare parts from General Motors and Stellantis at noon on Friday, joining the strike that began last week.
The announcement of Biden’s arrival, responding to an invitation from UAW President Shawn Fain, demonstrates how much is at stake in the conflict. Former Republican president Donald Trump also plans to visit the area on Wednesday, seeking support among working-class voters.
In announcing the expansion of the strike, Fain said the movement covers 20 states and factories of General Motors and Stellantis, with whom negotiations have stalled. The strike does not affect Ford, since although there are disagreements on some issues, the company has made important concessions since the protest began a week ago.
“On Tuesday I will go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of the UAW who are fighting to access their fair share of the value they helped create.”, Biden wrote on X (former Twitter) on Friday night. “It’s time to reach a win-win deal that keeps American auto manufacturing thriving with good-paying jobs,” she added.
Tuesday, I’ll go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create.
It’s time for a win-win agreement that keeps American auto manufacturing thriving with well-paid UAW jobs.
—President Biden (@POTUS) September 22, 2023
Fain explained that Ford had improved on earlier proposals by reinstating a cost-of-living measure that had been suspended in 2009. The company also offered to improve the profit-sharing system. “We’re not done yet at Ford,” the union president added. However, “we recognize that Ford is serious about reaching an agreement,” he said. “At GM and Stellantis, the story is different,” he added.
Ford said in a statement that it “is working diligently with the UAW to reach an agreement that rewards” To their workers. “While we are making progress in some areas, we still have significant gaps to close on key economic issues,” the statement said.
GM and Stellantis echoed a report published this Friday in the Detroit News newspaper according to which the UAW would aim to generate “operational chaos” in the companies as a negotiation strategy. ANDThe diary is based on leaked messages from the union’s communications director.
The Detroit News report confirms that “UAW leaders are manipulating the negotiating process based on their own personal agendas,” GM said in a statement. The UAW accuses companies of “corporate greed” and criticizes the fact that each of the CEOs of the “Big Three” earns more than $20 million a year.
The UAW is seeking pay increases of 40%, which would match average CEO raises over the past four years. Other key demands are the elimination of different salary “levels”, an adjustment in the cost of living and the restoration of medical benefits for retirees and a pension for junior employees.
The strike, which has been going on for a week, has so far had a limited effect on the companies’ profits since the three plants where the strike began produced medium-sized trucks that are profitable, but not the biggest sources of income. Analysts consider that the The UAW plans to further expand the strike to the most profitable plants depending on negotiations.
AFP
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