Talks between the Detroit Three automakers and the United Auto Workers continue Sunday, with 12,700 workers still picketing at three plants.
UAW President Shawn Fain appeared on MSNBC and CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning after NBC reported that President Joe Biden was sending a team to Detroit earlier this week to help resolve the strike.
“The good thing I see in all of this is that our members are out there manning the picket lines with our allies, and to me this really isn’t about the president or the former president… it’s about the resilience of the working class.” up,” Fain said on MSNBC.
He added that talks are progressing slowly, but the union and General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV are meeting on Sunday.
“I don’t really want to say we’re any closer,” he said.
The union is demanding, among other things, significant wage increases, an end to the staggered wage system and adjustments to the cost of living. Specifically, the UAW initially proposed a wage increase of 46% over the life of the contract (40% without compounding). A later offer reduced this figure to 36% without compounding.
On “Face the Nation,” Fain said that Stellantis’ recent offer to raise wages by 21% was “definitely a no-go,” and we’ve made that very clear to companies.
More: Where UAW, Detroit Three automakers stand on important issues
Ahead of the expiration of the three UAW contracts at 11:59 p.m. in Detroit on Thursday, September 14, Fain called for a targeted strike at three plants: GM’s Wentzville assembly in Missouri, Stellantis’ Toledo assembly in Ohio and Ford’s Michigan Convention in Wayne. Depending on how the talks go, Fain could call for more workers to leave different plants. This is the first time in its history that the UAW has simultaneously declared a strike against all three automakers.
On Saturday, the UAW said it had had “fairly productive” discussions with Ford, while Stellantis accused the union of misrepresenting its offers. The Ram truck and Jeep maker said it offered the UAW a nearly 21% overall wage increase and a path to “solving” the Belvidere Assembly Plant, the former Jeep Cherokee factory in north-central Illinois, that is ending The shutdown in February was only on the table until the contract expired on Thursday at midnight.
Fain called the move evidence that the company viewed workers as “bargaining pieces.”
As a result of the final assembly and paint strike at Michigan Assembly, Ford had to temporarily lay off 600 workers at other parts of the plant on Friday.
On the same day, GM warned that because of the Wentzville work stoppage, it would likely have to halt production at Fairfax Assembly in Kansas, as the Missouri plant supplies parts to Fairfax.
Concerns in Washington
Biden on Friday urged the Detroit Three to “go further” in their overtures to the union and was expected to send acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and senior adviser Gene Sperling to Detroit to offer support to both the union and the union “To offer our full support” to car manufacturers. reach a deal.
During Fain’s media interviews on Sunday, he was pressed on Biden’s commitment and the union’s decision to hold off on supporting the president, who claims to be the most pro-union president in the country’s history.
“Our support will be deserved,” Fain said on “Face the Nation.” “We expect action. No words.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, D-Ann Arbor, also appeared on “Face the Nation” and said that “almost all auto plant workers will benefit from where these negotiations go.”
Dingell added that she doesn’t believe the president should intervene or be at the negotiating table with the parties.
“Each of us who are policymakers and other stakeholders need to understand what these issues are and what we can do to support these discussions at the table,” she said. “And then (do) what we need to do to make it a strong, viable and competitive industry.”
Dingell, who also faced pressure over the union’s lack of support for Biden ahead of the 2024 election, said she wanted to keep presidential politics and negotiations with the union and automakers “completely separate.”
“I’m really worried about what’s happening at the table,” she said. “It will determine the future of the auto industry in Michigan. I want to keep presidential politics out of it and do the right thing from a political perspective. Then we can talk about the presidential election.”
Although the union has not endorsed Biden, Fain said in a letter to staff in May that another term for former President Donald Trump would be “a disaster.”
Trump, the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee, said Sunday on ABC’s “Meet the Press” that he doesn’t know Fain but “he doesn’t represent his union well because he won’t have a union in three years.” .” From now on. These jobs will all disappear because all these electric cars will be made in China.”
Twitter: @bykaleahall
Staff writer Riley Beggin contributed.