Four weeks after launching a limited strike against three major automakers, the United Auto Workers union is moving to a more aggressive strategy, with shutdowns likely to spread to more plants and last for some time. It suggests something.
The union’s president, Sean Fein, said in an online video that the union will no longer wait to announce an expanded strike on Friday, as it has in the past. Further action may be taken at any time.
“We’re not kidding around,” Fain said. “Businesses are now on notice. If they don’t want to move, we’re going to back them up.”
The union began its strike on Sept. 15 after workers were evicted from three factories owned by General Motors, Ford Motor Co., and Stellantis, which makes Chrysler, Jeep and Ram vehicles. Since then, the strike has been expanded step by step to increase pressure on companies.
The UAW and automakers have been negotiating a new labor contract since July.
On Wednesday, the UAW abruptly ordered workers to leave Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville. It is the company’s largest producer of the highly profitable Super Duty version of the F-series pickup truck.
Ford says its Kentucky plant typically produces a new truck every 37 seconds and generates $25 billion in revenue, about 16% of the company’s annual total.
Overall, the strike shut down operations at three Ford plants in Michigan, Chicago, and Kentucky. Two GM plants in Michigan and Missouri. Stellantis factory in Ohio. UAW union members are also striking at 38 GM and Stellantis spare parts warehouses across the country.
Approximately 34,000 of the 150,000 UAW union members employed by the three companies are currently on strike.
The UAW has demanded significant wage increases and improvements to other areas of the contract, including retirement plans. The union also wants to eliminate a system that pays new employees just over half of the UAW’s top wage of $32 an hour.
The union is also concerned about the potential for job losses as automakers ramp up production of electric vehicles. The two companies are proposing a wage increase of more than 20% over four years in order to shorten the time it takes for new employees to earn the highest wage from eight years to four.
On Thursday, Ford officials said they had reached the limits of what they could offer unions without negatively impacting the company’s business and ability to continue making significant investments in electric vehicles. “Anything beyond that limits our ability to invest in the business,” Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford’s internal combustion engine vehicle manufacturing division, said on a conference call Thursday.
Separate from the auto companies, workers representing the UAW went on strike at Mack Trucks this week. Its members voted this week to authorize a strike against aerospace and defense contractor General Dynamics. The UAW also represents about 1,000 workers at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan who have been on strike for a month.