UAW Strike Approval
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A union getting a strike approval vote is not generally that significant. It is something that happens all the time. But the UAW is cranky and I think a strike is really quite likely here.
United Auto Workers members overwhelmingly granted union leaders authorization to call strikes during ongoing contract negotiations with General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis
, if warranted.
The union on Friday said an average of 97% of combined members at the automakers approved the action, however final votes are still being tallied. That’s in line with support during negotiations four years ago, when 96% of workers who voted supported authorization for a strike.
The “strike authorization vote” is part of the union’s constitution and viewed as a procedural step in the negotiations. The voting results are historically high in support of the authorization. The vote does not mean there will or will not be a strike.
“Our goal is not to strike. I want to make that very clear. Our goal is to bargain good agreements for our members,” UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday during a Facebook Live. “But all we’ve tried to do with this is prepare everybody in the event that we have to take action to get a fair and just contract.”
However, Fain has been far more vocal than past union leaders about its ability to use striking as a weapon in its arsenal against the companies during the negotiations.
“The Big Three is our strike target. And whether or not there’s a strike — it’s up to Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, because they know what our priorities are. We’ve been clear,” Fain has said.
Nothing is predestined here. UAW just worked out a sweet new contract for the battery workers in the old Lordstown plant for example. If the companies don’t want a strike, they don’t have to have one. They just have to threat the UAW like a real partner. I just don’t think that they will do so.