Stellantis submitted a new contract proposal to the United Auto Workers union six days after strikes against Detroit car manufacturers launched at three major assembly plants.
Between the Big-Three automakers, Stellantis’ clashes with United Auto Workers leaders have arguably been the most frequent and certainly the most theatrical. The company’s original contract, sent in August, was swiftly denounced by union president Shawn Fain, who bluntly expressed his sentiments toward the proposed terms by throwing a copy into a trash can during a Facebook livestream.
It took more than a month for the automaker’s second offer to make its way to United Auto Workers leaders, ultimately arriving days after the September 14 deadline to avert a strike. This, too, was shot down by the union within hours of receipt. The first and second Stellantis contracts, which offered respective raises of 17.5% and 21%, failed to meet the UAW’s demands, which ask for a 36% pay raise (downwardly revised from an original 46%) along with job security guarantees, benefits improvements and an end to the wage tiers system.
However, it does not appear that Stellantis has capitulated on its 21% offer in what is now its fifth proposal, even as Fain threatens to expand strikes by Friday if no progress is made in negotiations. Instead, a spokesperson for the company explained that the newest proposal does not address economic concerns but instead focuses on “subcommittee open issues.” What those issues are has yet to be revealed by representatives from United Auto Workers or Stellantis, although Scott Moldenhauer, speaking to Bloomberg Law on Wednesday, noted, “It didn’t look good for us.”
