The United Auto Workers could be headed for a strike against the big three US automakers as soon as next week.
The UAW is negotiating with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellanits in separate talks for new terms before the union’s current contract expires at 11:59 pm Thursday.
GM delivered its first contract proposal Thursday, but UAW president Shawn Fain called the offer “insulting” to GM’s 50,000 UAW-represented hourly workers.
The offer included a 10% increase in hourly wages — well short of the 40% increase across the life of the contract that the union is asking for.
The UAW said GM also rejected proposals such as a turn to cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), an increase to retiree pay, a shorter work week and pension changes, along with job security proposals like the right to strike over plant closures, according to a bulletin sent to members.
The union also said that GM rejected the UAW’s proposal to end tiered wages following a 90-day climb to the top wage. GM’s proposal would partially end tiered wages instead.
That’s not good enough for Fain, who has said he wants a new contract from all three automakers before the current deal expires and that he won’t accept a contract extension.
GM either "doesn't care or isn't listening when we say we need economic justice at GM by 11:59 p.m. September 14,” Fain said. “The clock is ticking. Stop wasting our members' time. Tick tock."
In a letter from GM to employees, as reported by the Detroit Free Press, the company wrote, “Our offer includes well-deserved wage improvements that far exceed the 2019 agreement and reward you for your hard work. We still have work to do, but we wanted to make this offer to show our good faith efforts to keep the process moving."
Meanwhile, Ford last week offered a 9% general wage increase over the life of the contract in a proposal last week. Instead of COLA, the carmaker proposed a one-time lump sum bonus.
According to Ford, wages and lump sum bonuses for hourly workers would increase from an average of $78,000 a year in 2022 to $92,000 in the first year of the new contract.
Fain wasn't having it.
"Ford’s proposal not only fails to meet our needs, it insults our very worth," Fain told members during a Facebook Live presentation last week.
If talks don’t evolve quickly, the UAW may begin a strike by this time next week.
Stellantis' proposal
Friday afternoon, Stellantis offered a 14.5% wage increase to its roughly 43,000 UAW workers, a greater increase than proposed by either GM or Ford.
Newer employees would see their wages increase 27% and advance to the maximum wage in six years rather than eight under the current contract.
The proposal also grants UAW employees a $6,000 one-time sum designated for “inflation protection” in the first year of the deal, plus $4,500 over the next three years.
“This is a responsible and strong offer that positions us to continue providing good jobs for our employees today and in the next generation here in the US,” said Mark Stewart, chief operating officer of Stellantis’s North America unit. “It also protects the company’s future ability to continue to compete globally in an industry that is rapidly transitioning to electric vehicles.”
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