[1/2]A striking UAW member strikes outside the Ford Michigan assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan, U.S., September 23, 2023. Portal/Dieu-Nalio Chery ACKNOWLEDGES LICENSE RIGHTS
Sept 24 (Portal) – Ford Motor (FN) said on Sunday that despite progress in some areas, it still has “significant gaps to close” on key economic issues before it can reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the United Auto Workers union .
“The issues are interconnected and must work together as part of an overall agreement that supports our shared success,” it said in a late evening statement after the weekend talks.
The UAW, which spoke Friday of “real progress” in talks with the second-largest U.S. automaker, did not immediately comment.
Unlike Ford, the UAW has expanded strikes against General Motors (GM.N) and Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI) to 38 parts distribution centers across the United States. It was not immediately clear whether main negotiations with GM and Stellantis took place over the weekend.
The UAW began unprecedented, simultaneous strikes at one Detroit Three assembly plant on September 15 after previous four-year labor contracts expired. The strikes at other GM and Stellantis plants on Friday added around 5,600 workers to the 12,700 previously on strike.
UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday that Ford has improved its contract offer, including increasing profit sharing and agreeing to let workers strike over plant closures, but said the union still has serious issues to resolve.
The Detroit Three automakers have proposed a 20% pay increase over four and a half years, while the UAW is seeking 40%, as well as 32-hour work weeks, a return to defined benefit pensions and eliminating pay gaps between new and older workers.
President Joe Biden will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to show his support for workers and visit a UAW picket line, while Donald Trump, who is seeking a new term as president, will speak about the UAW on Wednesday in Clinton Township, Michigan. strike will speak.
GM said last week it was forced to idle its auto plant in Kansas because of a parts shortage resulting from the strike, which led the company to temporarily furlough 2,000 workers in Kansas. Stellantis temporarily laid off 68 employees in Ohio last week and expects to furlough another 300 workers in Indiana due to the strike.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Edited by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Edwina Gibbs
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