DETROIT.
Yesterday, about 12,700 UAW workers remained on strike for a second day as part of a job action targeting three U.S. assembly plants, one from each of the three Detroit automakers: General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.
Negotiators from the United Auto Workers (UWA) union and Ford Motor had “reasonably productive discussions” toward a new contract, the union said yesterday, while executives from Chrysler parent Stellantis said a proposal to resume work at a idle Illinois factory failed.
Talks between the union and Detroit automakers resumed yesterday, a day after the UWA began its first simultaneous strikes at three US auto plants.
“As we have always said, Ford has supported the UAW more than any other company. We are committed to reaching an agreement with the UAW that rewards our workers and allows Ford to invest in the future. We have to win together,” Mark Truby, president of Ford communications.
For its part, Stellantis announced that it had increased its offer, proposing cumulative increases of almost 21 percent over the four-and-a-half-year contract, including an immediate 10 percent increase.
UAW President Shawn Fain called reports of planned layoffs of non-striking workers an attempt by automakers to “pressure” union members into accepting a weaker deal.
“Their plan will not work (…) we will organize one day more than them and we will go to the end to achieve economic justice,” said Fain.
The companies say they need cost-competitive contracts because of the need to spend billions of dollars to make the transition to electric vehicles required by the international market, while workers point out that American automakers have enjoyed big profits. in the last decade and have increased executive salaries by 40 percent, on average, since 2019.
The data
Affected workers
- Ford reported that it would lay off 600 workers due to the strike; GM assured about 2,000 workers that the factory where they work might close.
