UAW members are set to strike at three key auto plants

DETROIT
–
The
United
Auto
Workers
union
plans
to
strike
three
U.S.
assembly
plants
of


General
Motors,


Ford
Motor
and


Stellantis,
UAW
President
Shawn
Fain
announced
late
Thursday
night.

The
strikes
are
contingent
upon
the
union
and
automakers
not
reaching
deals
by
an
11:59
p.m.
ET
deadline.
People
involved
with
the
discussions
told
CNBC
the
sides
remain
far
apart
Thursday
night
and
strikes
are
“highly
likely.”
Fain
on
Wednesday
also
said

strikes
were
“likely.”

The
facilities
are
GM’s
midsize
truck
and
full-size
van
plant
in
Wentzville,
Missouri;
Ford’s
Ranger
midsize
pickup
and
Bronco
SUV
plant
in
Wayne,
Michigan;
and
Stellantis’
Jeep
Wrangler
and
Gladiator
plant
in
Toledo,
Ohio.
For
Ford,
Fain
said
for
only
workers
in
paint
and
final
assembly
will
be
on
strike.

The
selected
plants
produce
highly
profitable
vehicles
for
the
automakers
that
largely
continue
to
be
in
high-demand.
About
12,700
workers
–
5,800
at
Stellantis,
3,600
at
GM
and
3,300
at
Ford
–
will
go
out
on
strike
at
the
plants
in
total,
the
union
said.
The
UAW
represents
about
146,000
workers
across
Ford,
GM
and
Stellantis.

The
plants
were
selected
by
the
union
as
part
of
targeted
strike
plans
initially
announced
Wednesday
night
by
Fain,
who
has
unconventionally
been
negotiating
with
all
three
automakers
at
once
and
been
reluctant
to
compromise
much
on
the
union’s
demands.

“For
the
first
time
in
our
history,
we
will
strike
all
three
of
the
‘Big
Three’
at
once,”
Fain
said just
after
10
p.m.
Thursday
in
live
remarks
streamed
on

Facebook
and
YouTube.
“We
are
using
a
new
strategy,
the
‘stand-up’
strike.
We
will
call
on
select
facilities,
locals
or
units
to
stand
up
and
go
on
strike.”

Fain
has
referred
to
the
union’s
plans
as
a
“stand-up
strike,”
a
nod
to
historic
“sit-down”
strikes
by
the
UAW
in
the
1930s.

Key
proposals
from
the
union
have
included
40%
hourly
pay
increases,
a
reduced
32-hour
work
week,
a
shift
back
to
traditional
pensions,
the
elimination
of
compensation
tiers
and
a
restoration
of
cost-of-living
adjustments
(COLA),
among
other
items
on
the
table
including
enhanced
retiree
benefits
and
enhanced
vacation
and
family
leave
benefits.

Ford,

in
a
statement
Thursday
night,
said
the
UAW
presented
its
“first
substantive
counterproposal”
to
four
of
the
company’s
offers,
but
it
“showed
little
movement
from
the
union’s
initial
demands.”

“If
implemented,
the
proposal
would
more
than
double
Ford’s
current
UAW-related
labor
costs,
which
are
already
significantly
higher
than
the
labor
costs
of
Tesla,
Toyota
and
other
foreign-owned
automakers
in
the
United
States
that
utilize
non-union-represented
labor,”
Ford
said.
“The
union
made
clear
that
unless
we
agreed
to
its
unsustainable
terms,
it
plans
a
work
stoppage
at
11:59
p.m.
eastern.”

The
automakers
have
made
record
proposals
that
address
some
of
the
UAW’s
ambitious
demands
but
not
all
of
them.
Specifically,
the
companies
have
offered
wage
increases
of
roughly
20%,
COLA,
altered
profit-sharing
bonuses;
and
enhanced
vacation
and
family
leave
enhancements
that
the
union
has
found
inadequate.

Targeted
strikes
typically

focus
on
key
plants
that
can
then
cause
other
plants
to
cease
production
due
to
a
lack
of
parts.
They
are
not
unprecedented,
but
the
way
Fain
plans
to
conduct
the
work
stoppages
is
not
typical.
They
include
initiating
targeted
strikes
at
select
plants
and
then
potentially
increasing
the
number
of
strikes
based
on
the
status
of
the
negotiations.
Selecting
assembly
plants
for
such
strikes
is
also
unique.

This
is
a
developing
story.
Please
check
back
for
additional
details.