- The United Auto Workers union is planning targeted strikes at specific plants against Detroit automakers if preliminary contracts with General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis are not reached.
- That’s what union officials said when they were informed about the matter on Tuesday evening.
- According to two sources who spoke to CNBC, that plan could change depending on how negotiations progress by Thursday’s 11:59 p.m. ET deadline.
Members of the United Auto Workers union hold a rally and practice picketing near a Stellantis plant in Detroit on August 23, 2023.
Michael Wayland/CNBC
DETROIT – The United Auto Workers union is planning targeted strikes at specific plants against Detroit automakers if tentative contracts with General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis are not reached, according to union officials briefed on the matter Tuesday evening.
That plan could change depending on how negotiations proceed by Thursday’s 11:59 p.m. ET deadline, according to two sources who spoke to CNBC on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been made public to union members .
Targeted strikes refer to work stoppages at specific plants only, linked to local contract issues that occur in many, if not most, plants. Compared to nationwide strikes in which all union members walk out of their plants, as happened four years ago during the last round of negotiations against GM.
UAW President Shawn Fain is expected to unveil the strike strategy to the broader union membership during a Facebook Live event on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET.
UAW President Shawn Fain addresses union members during a solidarity rally on Sunday in Warren, Michigan, on August 20, 2023
Michael Wayland/CNBC
Fain and other executives have repeatedly said they have a plan if the deals don’t come through by the deadline. That includes the possibility of a strike at all three automakers and the deployment of about 146,000 UAW members to picket lines instead of factory lines.
Carrying out targeted attacks can be complex because it is not clear how one asset will affect others. The actions could potentially result in non-striking union members being sent to unemployment insurance if their state allows them to collect benefits because they are unemployed as a result of a strike.
Companies can counteract this by locking out workers (refusing to employ them) or hiring permanent replacements for striking workers.
Targeted strikes will save the union money by not having to pay as many members “strike pay” from its $825 million strike fund.
The fund pays each eligible member $500 a week, which would mean it would have enough money to last about 11 weeks if everyone went on strike. However, that does not include health care costs that the union would cover, such as temporary COBRA plans, which would likely deplete the fund much more quickly.
The UAW declined to comment on the strategy, which was first reported by The Detroit Free Press on Tuesday. The newspaper said the plan was called a “stand-up strike as opposed to the sit-down strike of 1936 and 1937.”
Following reports of the union’s plan, Ford CEO Jim Farley said late Tuesday evening that the company remained “optimistic that we can reach an agreement with the UAW in the next two days.”
Farley said negotiators are sleeping in the company’s offices while they try to strike a deal with the union.