UAW pressures to strike vote on three Detroit automakers

Aug. 15 (Reuters) – Members of United Auto Workers have until Aug. 24 to vote to authorize a strike at the Detroit Three automakers if they don’t have a new contract in hand by the time the current agreement expires in about 30 days, the union said Tuesday.

The UAW move comes as the union, General Motors (GM.N), Ford Motor (FN) and Stellantis (STLAM.MI) made modest progress in their negotiations, UAW President Sean Fine said in a Facebook meeting with members Tuesday.

He urged members to agree to permission to strike, saying it would show automakers that “we’re done taking the crap and junk they want to feed us,” Fine said.

He directed local unions to begin voting on permission to strike immediately and to transmit the results to UAW International by the end of the day, Thursday, August 24. The workers’ current contract expires on September 14.

“Whether or not there is a strike next month is entirely up to the Big Three automakers,” Fine said in a statement earlier on Tuesday. The UAW wants to improve wages and benefits and end the two-tier wage system that contributes to wage erosion.

“Our priorities are clear, companies can afford it, and there is plenty of time for the Big Three to get serious about these negotiations.”

The Arab World Federation said talks with the three companies had not yet progressed beyond non-economic issues.

The three automakers said they want to strike a deal that is fair to workers but also gives companies flexibility at a time when the industry is shifting from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric models that have fewer parts and require less labor.

US President Joe Biden on Monday called on automakers and the UAW to reach a “fair agreement” before contracts expire. The union represents 150,000 workers in the three companies.

The announcement comes as labor unions are taking advantage of low unemployment to push for higher wages and better working conditions during talks on new labor agreements.

The UAW has repeatedly pointed to how the three automakers reported combined earnings of $250 billion from 2013 to 2022 and argued that hourly workers deserve to benefit, too.

The union is seeking a 40% increase on a four-year contract, cost-of-living adjustments, abolition of the tiered wage system and inclusion of workers at shared battery plants in its contracts.

Several Wall Street analysts said the chances of a strike are greater than 50%. Deutsche Bank previously estimated that the strike would hurt profits at each affected automaker by about $400 million to $500 million per week of production.

The UAW said Tuesday that it recently raised strike pay to $500 per week per member and has more than $825 million in its strike fund.

Additional reporting by Nathan Gomez in Bengaluru, Ben Clayman in Detroit, and Lisa Bertlin in Los Angeles; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Lisa Shumaker, and Sonali Paul

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