The United Auto Workers has expanded its strike against the big three automakers with workers at an additional General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) plant each joining the cause, UAW President Shawn Fain announced Friday.
Specifically, new strikes are targeting GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan which builds the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse crossovers, and Ford’s Chicago Assembly plant in Illinois, which produces the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs.
Roughly 7,000 workers will be part of the latest strikes, joining more than 18,000 already striking.
Chrysler-parent Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA, EPA:STLA) will not be the target of any additional strikes, with Fain citing progress in negotiations. This is especially notable last week, when additional strikes were launched against GM and Stellantis but not Ford for similar reasons.
“We are excited about this momentum at Stellantis and hope it continues,” Fain said.
Interestingly, Fain’s announcement was actually delayed about a half-hour Friday morning due to what he called a “flurry of interest” from the automakers.
Meanwhile, GM and Stellantis have reportedly become increasingly frustrated with what they see as a lack of participation on Fain’s part, according to reports. People familiar with the negotiations say there have been delays in receiving counterproposals from the UAW, per CNBC.
While it’s unclear where the negotiations stand, the automakers taking the publicly reported union proposal (which includes a 40% wage increase) would be “bleak” for the companies, in the view of Wedbush analysts.
“In a nutshell, this UAW debacle strike trajectory is like watching a slow moving car crash take place on black ice in our view,” the analysts wrote in a note to clients.
“We firmly believe that if GM, Ford, Stellantis accept anything close to the deal on the table the future will be very bleak for the US auto industry.
They continued, "If the Detroit Three took this current deal we estimate the average EV vehicle will go up in price by $3,000-$5,000 to pass these costs onto the consumer and would ultimately be a torpedo to the future business models of the 313 area code.”
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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