INDIANA – The United Auto Workers Labor Union is expected to receive a contract proposal from General Motors today. The source also indicates that the UAW will also receive a labor contract counterproposal on economic issues from Ford sometime today.
A lot can happen in a week, but right now, there’s not a lot of optimism on either side for the kind of last-minute deal UPS and the Teamsters worked out.
The current labor contract negotiations have been contentious, with the UAW recently filing an unfair labor practice charge against GM, accusing the automaker of using delay tactics as the current contract deadline approaches.
The automakers reiterated that they want to avoid a strike, and they dispute the allegation that they are negotiating in bad faith.
As a tense standoff between the UAW and the Big Three automakers continues over the terms of contract renewal, GM President Mark Reuss and GM Executive Vice President, of Global Manufacturing and Sustainability Gerald Johnson said the automaker has received almost 1,000 demands from the union.
Johnson added the automakers “received numerous presidential demands with significant costs attached that would threaten our ability to maintain our manufacturing momentum.”
The UAW has made a set of demands that even Fain described as “audacious.” They include:
- At least 40% pay raises over four years
- A 32-hour workweek with 40 hours of pay
- The restoration of traditional pensions
- Limits on part-time workers and forced overtime
The companies, which are all expected to bring in billions in profit this year, have said that the union’s demands would undermine their ability to compete against Tesla and foreign competitors at a time when they’re investing in a massive shift toward electric vehicles and claim those demands would bankrupt GM and other Big Three companies.
The union says it is prepared to strike any automaker that hasn’t reached a deal come September 15, even if that means the first simultaneous strike against all three.
Despite President Joe Biden stating Monday that he’s not worried about a UAW strike, neither the union nor the companies are signaling the same level of confidence.
In response to Biden’s comment, UAW President Shawn Fain said he was “shocked”.
“He must know something we don’t know,” Fain told The Detroit News. “Maybe the companies plan on walking in and giving us our demands the night before.”
“Our intent is not to strike,” Fain added. “That’s been our intent from day one. But as we get down to the wire here, there are three companies to bargain with and there are only a few days left to do it. So I know what it looks like to me.”
Unions are flexing their muscle in a way not seen in decades, helped by the lowest unemployment rate in a half-century and more job openings than there are applicants. All of that puts power in the hands of workers to demand better wages and working conditions.
