(Bloomberg) — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain indicated Friday that he is close to reaching an agreement with all three unionized automakers, but also warned that strikes at more plants may be needed to reach the finish line could be to pressure companies to make some final concessions.
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Fain did not call for more strikes at U.S. plants and said he had received improved offers from General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV. Still, he told his members in a Facebook Live address that there was “more to gain.”
That prepares the union and the three automakers for a possible showdown next week. The union has wage increases of 23% on the table from all three automakers, but wants more. People familiar with the negotiations say the union is now seeking a 25% wage increase.
It is also pushing companies to provide better pension benefits, job security measures and to include future workers in battery factories in the contract.
Fain concluded his speech by telling all members that they were ready to address the press line for a few final victories.
“We still have cards to play and they still have money to spend,” Fain said. “This is the hardest part of the strike. Just before a deal, the greatest pressure is on the last mile.”
GM and Stellantis may have prevented the strike from expanding by adjusting Ford Motor Co.’s initial wage offer in the hours before it was broadcast.
The talks picked up steam this week. GM said Friday it would offer most UAW workers $40.39 an hour, matching the 23 percent raise Ford had already given. This increase, along with cost of living increases, could bring the total wage increase closer to 30%, which is the minimum the union wants to achieve.
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While all three companies have offered improvements for temporary workers, including raises to $21 an hour at Ford and GM and $20 an hour at Stellantis, the union is still negotiating a way to automatically convert future temporary workers to full-time, the union said Fain. So far, Ford has offered to convert existing temporary workers to full-time after 90 days, while GM and Stellantis have more temporary workers and would need more time to transition.
Fain said all three companies have reduced the time it takes new hires to reach the highest salary to four years. Ford offered the best cost-of-living allowance to protect workers from inflation, and he wants GM and Stellantis to do more.
All three companies have agreed to boost pension benefits, Fain said, and increase 401(k) contributions, but for current retirees, Ford and GM are offering “deeply inadequate” lump sum payments and Stellantis has rejected increases, he said.
Highlight Ford
Ford negotiations picked up steam again this week after the union took a break on Oct. 11 at the automaker’s largest factory, the truck plant in Kentucky, according to people familiar with the negotiations who are not authorized to do so to talk about it publicly. The two sides have clarified about 85% of the terms of the contract, one of the people said.
Although GM and Stellantis improved their offers to match Ford’s proposals two weeks ago, Fain criticized Ford – and CEO Bill Ford – and accused the company of being unwilling to discount its offer since the union closed its truck plant in Kentucky was attacked.
Read more: Bill Ford calls on UAW leaders to end ‘fierce strike’
Fain rejected Bill Ford’s call for the union and the company to work together to take action against Tesla Inc. and foreign automakers operating in the U.S., such as Toyota Motor Corp. to compete.
“We will not be taken advantage of in this false competition,” said Fain. “We will not work with Ford in a race to the bottom, and we will not work with the Big Three to meet the low standards of non-union automakers. Instead, we will organize non-union automakers everywhere.”
After Fain criticized Ford’s stock dividend payment, the company responded by noting that “tens of thousands of UAW members” have Ford shares in their retirement plans.
“Shareholders own the company – and they deserve to be rewarded when Ford does well,” the company said.
Read more: What’s at stake as US auto workers’ strike drags on: QuickTake
Among the latest sticking points in Ford talks is how future workers will be retained at battery plants under construction and at the Blue Oval City complex in Tennessee, which is slated to include a new battery plant and an electric truck plant when it opens in 2025 , should be covered as a person knows with the conversations said. The two sides are also still working out final economic terms, the person said.
GM declined to comment. In a statement, Stellantis said it had made progress in closing negotiation gaps: “Our focus remains on resolving these issues as quickly as possible and finding solutions that protect the company and our employees.”
During a strike demonstration Wednesday in Center Line, Michigan, Gene Orr, a striking Stellantis worker, said the union had been “reaching for the stars” in collective bargaining. Ultimately, however, he would be satisfied as long as the contract provides sufficient wage increases and cost-of-living adjustments, protects health care and allows battery workers to unionize.
“Everything else is icing on the cake,” Orr said. “You can get the cake, but you don’t get the frosting, so it could end up being a pound cake.”
John Jake Kincaid, a 27-year-old Stellantis employee, said: “A lot of what we gave up, we’re just trying to get them back.”
“They were miserable, we made sacrifices,” he said. Now that “they are doing good, it is time to reward us.”
(Updates throughout)
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