Jamie Butters, managing editor of Automotive News, discusses the expansion of the UAW strikes and its impact on car buyers.
The United Auto Workers’ strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis has entered a “new phase” as it reaches its one-month mark, the union’s top leader said Friday.
In his weekly address to members, UAW President Shawn Fain did not call for strikes at additional plants, but said more strikes could occur at any time, not just on Fridays, as was the case in the early weeks of the strike.
United Auto Workers strikers picket the General Motors Lansing Delta plant in Delta Township, Michigan, September 29, 2023. (Portal/Rebecca Cook / Portal Photos)
The union already demonstrated an adjustment in strategy earlier this week when it ordered the closure of Ford’s Kentucky truck plant in Louisville, a surprise move that the automaker condemned.
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“They thought they had figured out the so-called rules of the game, so we changed the rules, and now there’s only one rule: pony up,” Fain said Friday of the Detroit automakers. “We have reached a point in this process where we are only looking for one thing – a deal, a tentative agreement.”
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain speaks to the crowd during a UAW rally in Detroit on September 15, 2023. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Fain said UAW leadership decided to strike at the Ford plant in Kentucky on Wednesday after meeting with the company’s negotiating team at headquarters. According to Fain, Ford refused to offer more in its most recent proposal, so the union called on the 8,700 workers employed at the plant to walk out.
| ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | FORD MOTOR CO. | 11.81 | -0.19 | -1.58% |
| GM | GENERAL MOTORS CO. | 29.67 | -0.65 | -2.14% |
| STLA | STELLANTIS NV | 19.68 | -0.09 | -0.43% |
“We’re not kidding,” Fain told union members. “A negotiation requires both sides to move. If they are not ready to move, we give them a nudge in a language they understand. Dollars and cents.”
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The UAW launched its simultaneous but limited strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis on September 15, starting with one plant at each automaker. The union has gradually expanded the strike to other plants.
More than 33,000 of the Big Three’s 150,000 union members are on strike.
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So far, the strike has cost the U.S. economy more than $5.5 billion and led to thousands of layoffs at automakers and their suppliers due to the closure of key assembly plants.