UAW Strike Likely
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UAW President Shawn Fain was doubtful Monday when asked about Biden’s no-strike prediction, and he said the union is prepared to strike any company that doesn’t reach a tentative deal before the September 15 strike deadline.
“I appreciate President Biden’s optimism. I also hope that the Big Three get serious and start bargaining in good faith. We are ready to do what is necessary to get our share of economic and social justice for our members,” Fain told CNN Monday afternoon. “We have a long way to go and a short time to get there.”
All the automakers would say Tuesday was that they hope to avoid a strike.
“It is Stellantis’ desire to reach an agreement with the UAW without a work stoppage,” said a statement from the company, which makes vehicles for the US market under the Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler brands. “It is our belief that a strike doesn’t benefit anyone – it hurts our customers, our employees and the community.”
But the UAW filed unfair labor practice complaints last week alleging that both GM and Stellantis were bargaining in bad faith, alleging that the two companies wouldn’t even bother responding to the union’s demands for pay and benefit increases. The move had relatively limited legal significance since the National Labor Relations Board won’t rule on it before the September 15 strike deadline. But it’s a sign of how far apart the sides are.
GM and Stellantis both responded by disputing thatthey are negotiating in bad faith.
“We have been hyper-focused on negotiating directly and in good faith with the UAW and are making progress,” said a statement from Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president of global manufacturing. “Our goal remains the same – to achieve an agreement without a disruption that rewards our team members and protects the future of the entire GM team.”
The UAW did not file a similar complaint against Ford because the company provided the union with a response to its demands. But Fain said the terms of the Ford’s offer “not only fails to meet our needs, it insults our very worth.”
Other than the UAW membership being very cranky, a huge issue here that the automakers really don’t want to budge on is making most of the electric vehicle industry non-union. This is being massively underreported by a media that doesn’t do much work on really understanding labor issues, but it is a big thing here–the more the automakers can exclude the new vehicle production from the master contract, the more they can control workers and slow-walk bust the UAW.