WAYNE, Mich. – The countdown is on for more UAW-targeted strikes across the country as UAW President Shawn Fain has set a 12 p.m. deadline Friday to announce more strikes if serious progress isn’t made.
As of Thursday night, progress was elusive. Fain will address the membership in the morning two hours before that deadline, and we expect to hear which plants are next.
The union leader posted to X Thursday.
— Shawn Fain (@ShawnFainUAW) September 21, 2023
It’s not that there hasn’t been bargaining this week, a consensus just hasn’t been reached.
“Out here, it’s about the money,” said UAW worker Marc Kane. “It’s always about the money. If the executives are going to make money like this, then why we can’t make money like this?”
Over the last two days, General Motors has been doubling down on its previous offer, which was given before the strike deadline, sending out details of what its offer means to workers.
Ford Motor Company said it’s looking for a win-win solution. Stellantis has given the UAW a new offer, but at a practice picket at the company’s Auburn Hills headquarters Wednesday, union members walked in a single file line chanting, “CTC is not for sale.”
Word on the picket line was that it was far from what the UAW demanded.
The targeted strikes have already resulted in layoffs at several other plants, which means more workers will be paid out of the UAW strike fund; that’s $500 a week per worker.
Fain has set high expectations like a 32-hour work week, a wage hike of 40%, and an end to tiers. Demands all the automakers say aren’t based in reality.
“My feet are planted to the ground, so what we want is what we want,” said UAW worker Louie Jackson. “That’s why we’re out here picketing.”
“We continue to negotiate with the UAW. Our focus has not wavered on reaching a deal that rewards our employees, allows us to create great value for customers from Ford’s unique position as the most American automaker, and enables Ford to invest and grow.”
Ford spokesperson
More: More plants idled amid targeted UAW strikes against Detroit Big Three; over 2K workers laid off