Why the American union bumps up Stellantis, Ford and GM
The American union United Auto Workers could call a strike against Stellantis, Ford and General Motors. Reason: the negotiations on the new union contract. But there are also frictions on the transition to electric. All the details
Next week, the United Auto Workers (UAW), the American union of workers in the automotive sector, could call a strike against the three big companies in Detroit, once the main hub of the auto industry in the United States: i.e. Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which controls the Chrysler brand despite being based in the Netherlands and of Italian-French origin.
WHY THE UAW CALLS A STRIKE
The reason for the possible strike is the imminent expiry, next September 14, of the union contract with the three companies. UAW President Shawn Fain said the renewal talks were progressing "too slowly" and that the behavior of the Big Three was "unacceptable".
The UAW will put the strike to a vote next week and communicate the results of the consultation by August 24. As Quartz explains, this is standard practice during contract negotiations because it allows the union to ask members for time off work and increase pressure on companies. The strike may or may not happen, even though the vast majority of the UAW's 150,000 members usually vote for it.
THE REQUESTS OF THE TRADE UNION
The UAW contract demands for 2023 are as follows:
- a 46 percent wage increase in four years
- thirty-two hour workweek paid at forty hours
- elimination of salary ranges and benefits
- pension and health coverage for retirees
- a significant increase in the salary of retirees
- restoration of cost-of-living adjustments
- right to strike for the closure of the plants
- protection program for working families
- fight against abuses against temporary workers
- more paid leisure time
STELLANTIS' ANSWER
In a letter to employees dated Aug. 11 and published by Reuters , Stellantis chief operating officer Mark Stewart wrote that a contractual arrangement should be based on "economic realism." The UAW president, however, thinks Stellantis management "chose to spit in our faces" and said the company wants to cut health care coverage and contributions to pension funds.
Here's the version of the @Stellantis email that had the “focus on reality” line https://t.co/3yFKBgyldM pic.twitter.com/OBRNIYcPRP
— David Shepardson (@davidshepardson) August 11, 2023
The union also accused Detroit's big automakers of rewarding top management and investors with gigantic sums, rather than remunerating workers. Shawn Fain said the three companies made $250 billion in profits in North America over the past decade, and $21 billion in the first half of 2023.
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE REQUESTS OF THE UNION
In a statement, Ford said the union's "scale and scope of demands" would "threaten our ability to do what's right for the long-term benefit of the team." According to an estimate reported by Bloomberg , the UAW proposal would triple labor costs for the three automakers to $150 an hour, for a total expense of $80 billion.
THE CLASH ON THE TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC
Another friction between the automakers and the UAW is the transition to electric mobility. Companies have invested huge sums in new technologies and raw materials for batteries . However, the union fears the loss of many jobs because electric vehicles contain fewer moving parts than conventional cars and therefore require less manpower.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/sindacato-uaw-sciopero-stellantis-ford-general-motors/ on Fri, 18 Aug 2023 08:34:30 +0000.