The United Auto Workers (the UAW) is shifting to a new phase in its strike against the Detroit Big Three. One in which it says it could call a strike at any time.
In his weekly social media address Friday, UAW President Shawn Fain said the union was entering an entirely new phase of its strike, warning that the UAW could call another targeted strike against Ford, GM or Stellantis at any time. During his address he used the phrases "We're not messing around" and "Now there's only one rule - pony up" and "We're not waiting until Fridays anymore."
The UAW changed its tactics earlier this week, surprising Ford with a strike at its Kentucky Truck Plant. Fain said the UAW called the strike when Ford didn't sweeten the deal and came back with the same economic offer it rejected two weeks ago. Fain said at that point he told Ford: "You just cost yourself Kentucky Truck Plant".
Fain was also not swayed by a Ford exec's comments yesterday. Ford Blue CEO said the company was at it's limit of what it could do financially.
"We have been very clear that we are at the limit," Kumar Galhotra, head of Ford's combustion vehicle unit on the call. "We stretched to get to this point. Going further will hurt our ability to invest in the business."
Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant is its largest plant. It produces the F-Series Super Duty, Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator.
A statement released on Wednesday by Ford reads:
DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 11, 2023 – The decision by the UAW to call a strike at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant is grossly irresponsible but unsurprising given the union leadership’s stated strategy of keeping the Detroit 3 wounded for months through “reputational damage” and “industrial chaos.”
Ford made an outstanding offer that would make a meaningful positive difference in the quality of life for our 57,000 UAW-represented workers, who are already among the best compensated hourly manufacturing workers anywhere in the world. In addition to our offer on pay and benefits, Ford has been bargaining in good faith this week on joint venture battery plants, which are slated to begin production in the coming years.
The UAW leadership’s decision to reject this record contract offer – which the UAW has publicly described as the best offer on the table – and strike Kentucky Truck Plant, carries serious consequences for our workforce, suppliers, dealers and commercial customers.
Kentucky Truck is Ford’s largest plant and one of the largest auto factories in America and the world. The vehicles produced at the Louisville-based factory – the F-Series Super Duty, the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator – generate $25 billion a year in revenue. In addition to affecting approximately 9,000 direct employees at the plant, this work stoppage will generate painful aftershocks – including putting at risk approximately a dozen additional Ford operations and many more supplier operations that together employ well over 100,000 people.
This decision by the UAW is all the more wrongheaded given that Ford is the only automaker to add UAW jobs since the Great Recession and assemble all of its full-size trucks in America.
With the additional Ford strike, which involves roughly 8,700 workers, there are now currently roughly 33,000 UAW workers on strike against all three automakers.
Layoffs
More layoffs are expected by Ford due to the impact of the strike at the Kentucky Truck Plant. Currently, the number of Ford, GM and Stellantis workers laid off in relation to the strike actions is just under 5,000. GM's is the only automaker to completely close an assembly plant. Stellantis announced additional layoffs on Monday. Read a breakdown of the layoffs at each automakers as of October 11th here.
Last Friday, UAW President Shawn Fain announced the UAW had called off its next targeted strike against GM's biggest money making plant - its large SUV plant in Arlington, TX - due to a breakthrough in negotiations. The breakthrough was that GM agreed to place its electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing plants under the UAW's national master agreement.
(Speaking of batteries, Wednedsay, Stellantis N.V. and Samsung SDI announced that Kokomo, Indiana, will be the site for a second battery manufacturing facility in the United States as part of the StarPlus Energy joint venture.)
Last Friday, no new strike actions against any of the Detroit Three were announced.
UAW workers are currently on strike at two Ford plants, three GM plants and two Stellantis plants as well as 38 Stellantis and GM parts distribution centers.
Strike Timeline
- August 25: UAW members authorize leaders to call a strike against the Detroit Big Three automakers.
- August 27: UAW ratifies interim agreement immediately raising salaries at GM's Ultium cells battery plant.
- August 31: Ford offers a general wage increase of 9% along with a 6% lump sum award. Read the offer here.
- September 6: Reuters reports the UAW reportedly makes a counteroffer to Ford.
- September 7: Ford announces that on Labor Day it raised the pay for nearly 8,000 U.S. hourly workers represented by the UAW. The raise amounts to roughly $9,000 a year without overtime and the increase is a provision of a 2019 contract.
- September 7: GM makes a 10% wage hike counteroffer to the UAW, an offer the UAW president calls "insulting", as reported by Reuters. (Last week, the UAW filed unfair labor practice charges against GM with the National Labor Relations Board.
- September 7: Ford reportedly met with the UAW Thursday afternoon and according to the Detroit Free Press improved its offer.
- September 8: Stellantis gives UAW its first offer that reportedly includes wage hikes totaling 14.5% for most workers, according to the Detroit Free Press. (The UAW recently filed unfair labor practice charges against Stellantis as well as GM.)
- September 8: The UAW calls Stellantis' offer "deeply unfair".
- September 11: According to Reuters, the UAW reports some progress in talks but still no agreement with a strike deadline three days away. Reuters also reported that the UAW has reduced its wage demands. The news outlet also reported that GM extended a revised offer over the weekend, with Stellantis planning to make a counteroffer to the UAW's revised offer. Read the article here.
- September 13: Ford shares the latest on its negotiation offer.
- September 14: GM says it made a historic offer to the UAW with 20% wage increases.
- September 14: Ford released an evening statement about the ongoing negotiations.
- September 14: At 11:59PM UAW workers walk of the job at three plants, one from each automaker.
- September 18: UAW President Shawn Fain says strike will expand unless "serious progress" is made by noon Friday.
- September 20: Automotive News reports GM and Stellantis layoffs due to idled plants or parts issues.
- September 20: GM President Mark Reuss criticizes UAW for its rhetoric and over "flow of misinformation" - CNBC
- September 21: Leaked private messages from a top UAW official evoke outrage from automakers.
- September 22: UAW says it will expand strike against GM and Stellantis but not Ford. It is targeting 38 distribution centers in 20 states.
- September 22: Stellantis shares its response to the UAW.
- September 22: Ford releases a new statement.
- Week of September 25th: Tensions escalate both in negotiations and on the picket lines.
- September 26th: President Joe Biden joins a UAW picket line in Michigan.
- September 27th: Former President Donald Trump visits a non-union automotive plant in Michigan.
- September 29: UAW goes on strike against two additional plants, one GM and one Ford. The UAW spares Stellantis this week.
- September 29: Ford issues a statement.
- October 3: Ford issues new statement regarding new offer extended to UAW on Monday night.
- October 5: Reuters reports that GM said it extended another offer to the UAW.
- October 6: UAW says it will not strike GM's Arlington assembly plant at this time due to a breakthrough in negotiations.
- October 9: Stellantis lays off more workers due to strike.
- October 10: GM faces a strike in Canada where 4,300 Unifor workers walked off the job.
- October 10: GM reaches tentative deal with Unifor so strike is short lived.
- October 11: UAW strikes Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant.
- October 11: Ford issues statement.
