The United Auto Workers union and the three established US automakers remain at loggerheads over wages and other issues less than a week before contracts covering 150,000 union workers expire.
So far, the companies – General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis, the parent of Chrysler – have offered to raise wages by 14 percent to 16 percent over four years. Their offers include lump sum payments to help cushion the impact of inflation, and policy changes that would raise the pay of recent hires and temporary workers, who typically earn about a third less than veteran union members.
But the union’s embattled new president, Shawn Fain, dismissed the offers as “insulting,” noting that the three manufacturers have been profitable for nearly a decade, and that top executives’ pay packages have risen big He is seeking a pay increase of about 40 percent and has repeatedly warned that workers are poised to walk off the assembly lines when current collective bargaining agreements with automakers expire on Thursday.
“We’re ready to strike, and we’re ready,” said Jason Garza, a parts molder at GM’s technical center in Warren, Mich. “We want a fair contract, and I have a strong feeling that it will be unanimous across the board.”
Mr. Fain said the union was ready to strike all three automakers at once, a move it had never done before. An across-the-board shutdown would shut down a large part of the US auto industry, and potentially deal a major blow to the economies of Michigan and other states.
The talks are taking place during a mass shift from combustion engine cars and trucks to electric vehicles, which require fewer parts and less labor to produce. UAW leaders and members are increasingly concerned that the move will eliminate jobs and, over time, reduce wages and benefits.
Automakers are also concerned about the transition. GM, Ford and Stellantis are spending tens of billions of dollars to build new factories and scour the world for battery raw materials like lithium. Company executives have argued that offering UAW members big raises could leave them at a significant cost disadvantage for Tesla, which dominates the US electric car market and employs non- union worker
The auto industry is the largest US manufacturing sector, and accounts for about 3 percent of the nation’s economic output. The three Detroit automakers operate dozens of plants that produce about 500,000 cars a month.
The Anderson Economic Group, a research firm in East Lansing, Mich., estimated that a 10-day strike against the three companies would reduce corporate profits by $1 billion and wages by $900 million for UAW members and workers who work for other companies that depend on automakers.
Besides wages, the union and the companies remain far apart on several other issues, including measures to preserve jobs and prevent the closing of US plants, increases in retirement benefits and adjustments to cost of living, which used to be standard in UAW contracts.
The union has made some progress in its discussions with Ford. In response to Mr. Fain’s demands, the automaker offered to raise wages by about 15 percent, through a 9 percent increase in base wages and a one-time lump sum payment of $11,000 per worker While Mr. Fain denied that, the two sides continued to negotiate. He is scheduled to update UAW members later Friday about Ford’s latest offer.
Talks with GM and Stellantis proceeded more slowly. The UAW filed a complaint last week with the National Labor Relations Board, saying the two manufacturers have refused to offer proposals in response to the union’s demands and are not negotiating in good faith.
GM responded by offering a combination of base wage increases and lump sum payments that would increase worker pay by about 16 percent. “We’ve said we want to reward and recognize our employees with wage increases,” Gerald Johnson, GM’s executive vice president for global manufacturing, said this week.
Acquiescing to all of the union’s demands would threaten GM’s ability to compete, he added.
Mr. Fain said the wage offer did not go far enough to offset the impact of inflation on workers’ take-home pay over the past decade, and it was too small given GM’s earnings. The automaker reported revenues of $7 billion in the first half of the year. Mr. also complained. GM has rejected union proposals on job security, retiree pay, cost-of-living adjustments and other issues.
Stellantis submitted its proposal to the union on Friday morning, offering a 14.5 percent increase in base wages without lump-sum payments.
“This is a responsible and strong offer that positions us to continue providing great jobs to our employees,” said Mark Stewart, the chief operating officer of Stellantis’ North American operations, in a statement. “With this offer, we are seeking a timely resolution to our discussions.”
Stellantis, based in Amsterdam and created by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot in 2021, earned 11 billion euros ($12 billion) in the first half of the year, a record.
