Early this Friday, September 15, thousands of employees at three vehicle assembly plants: General Motors in Missouri, Ford in Michigan and Stellantis in Ohio went on strike. The protest began after the deadline set by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union for signing a new collective agreement expired, which includes a 40% wage increase. It is the first time that the three main companies in the United States automotive sector have held a strike at the same time.
Historic strike in the automotive sector in the United States, one of the country’s economic pillars.
Around 13,000 workers stopped making vehicles after four-year contracts expired at 11:59 pm on Thursday, September 14 and they failed to reach a new collective agreement, amid huge gaps between union demands and concession provisions. by industry giants.
The negotiations began last July and at midnight the deadline set by the employees for an agreement expired, so the strike began immediately in assembly plants of the so-called Big Three of Detroit: General Motors in Missouri, Ford in Michigan and Stellantis in Ohio.
Hundreds of workers stood with banners in front of the factories to demonstrate.
“For the first time in history, we will declare strikes at the same time in all three (companies). We are using a new strategy, the selective strike,” declared the president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, Shawn Fein, shortly before winning the ultimatum.
The strikes slow production of the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, Chevrolet Colorado and other popular models.
What are the demands of the workers?
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which has a total of 150,000 employees, demands 40% salary increase in four yearswhich, he assures, would be in line with the increase of that same percentage in the remuneration of the directors of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.
The UAW began negotiations demanding an immediate 20% raise and four additional increases of 5% each over the life of the contract.
But the offers were much lower than what was required. General Motors and Ford offered 20% and Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, 17.5%.
In addition to general wage increases, the union seeks to reinstate cost-of-living wage increases, end varying levels of pay for factory jobs, restoration of traditional defined benefit pensions for new employees, pension increases for retirees and other elements.
Starting in 2007, workers waived cost-of-living increases and defined benefit pensions for new workers. The pay levels were created when the UAW attempted to help companies avoid financial problems before and during the Great Recession. Still, only Ford avoided government-funded bankruptcy protection.
Many say it’s time to take back the concessions, as companies are making huge profits and CEOs are making millions.
Likewise, employees demand the end of mandatory overtimebecause under the previous contract they were obliged to work seven days a week in a row, for months.
They also ask that the modality of temporary workers ends or is limitedbecause these people earn approximately half the salary of a permanent employee.
Today, employees at larger-scale assembly plants earn about $32 an hour, plus large annual profit-sharing checks. According to Ford, the average annual salary, including overtime and bonuses, was $78,000 in 2022.
The companies, for their part, maintain that these are costly agreements that would force them to increase vehicle prices. However, the union president dismissed that argument, noting that labor represents only 4% to 5% of vehicle costs and that companies are raking in billions of dollars, so they can allow for increases.
“They could double our increases and not raise car prices and still make millions of dollars in profits (…) We are not the problem. Corporate greed is the problem,” Fain said.
Ford CEO Jim Farley argued that if the automaker had accepted the union’s demands, it would have lost $15 billion over the past decade and would have gone bankrupt.
This strike differs from previous protests. Instead of trying to persuade one company, the union is targeting the three largest manufacturers. While not all of the UAW’s roughly 150,000 members are on strike, Fain noted that more plants could join the strike if companies don’t make better offers.
“I like the job. It’s just that we deserve more,” said Britney Johnson, who has worked for Ford for three and a half years and has yet to reach the highest union salaries, after indicating that “the cost of living is increasing.”
A strike with political implications
The protest comes as President Joe Biden’s administration invests billions of dollars in federal subsidies to expand sales of electric vehicles.
But the manufacturing of this type of car is not viewed favorably by the union, since its production requires fewer jobs.
Given this scenario, unemployment in the automotive sector has also become an issue with political implications. In fact, the American news agency, AP, highlights that UAW has not supported the re-election aspirations of the Democratic president.
For some experts, cited by Reuters, any agreement could be costly and hinder automakers’ investment in electric vehicles.
The strikes will likely shape the future of the union and the U.S. auto industry, just as U.S. auto companies face a historic transition from building internal combustion cars to making electric vehicles.
If the protest continues for too long, dealers could run out of vehicles and prices could rise, impacting a U.S. economy already under pressure from high inflation.
The strike could even be a factor in next year’s presidential election, testing Joe Biden’s proud claim to be the most union-friendly president in the history of the top power.
With Reuters, AP and local media
#United #States #faces #unprecedented #simultaneous #strike #powerful #automotive #sector