United Auto Workers (UAW) President, Shawn Fain, announced on Wednesday that OEM contract offers remain unsatisfactory and a strike is likely.
Addressing union members in a Facebook livestream, Fain acknowledged improved wages in the offers from General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis but emphasized that key union demands were still not addressed.
“We do not yet have offers on the table that reflect the sacrifices and contributions our members have made to these companies,” he stated. “To win we’re likely going to have to take action. We are preparing to strike these companies in a way they’ve never seen before.”
Unless an agreement is reached by Thursday night, UAW officials will halt negotiations on Friday, and support workers on picket lines instead. The union plans to announce the strike at select factories if no deal is made by 10:00 p.m. Thursday. This would be the first simultaneous strike against all three companies in the union’s 80-plus-year history.
“It’s going to keep (the companies) guessing on what might happen next, and it’s going to turbocharge the power of our negotiators to be as effective as possible,” Fain said.
Initially, the UAW demanded a 40% wage increase over a four-year contract, which was then adjusted to around 36%. The union also seeks cost-of-living raises, uniform wages across jobs, a 32-hour workweek with full pay, traditional pensions for new hires, and increased retiree benefits.
Fain revealed Wednesday that Ford proposed 20% wage increases, GM at 18%, and Stellantis at 17.5%. These raises, he argued, barely compensate for past minimal increases.
On Tuesday, Bill Ford and Ford CEO, Jim Farley, presented an offer to the UAW Ford team. The offer included cost of living adjustments, equalized wage tiers, enhanced retirement contributions, top-tier healthcare benefits, and expanded paid leave, adding Juneteenth as a holiday. Notably, Fain was absent from this discussion.
