Posted on 09/15/2023 5:01:35 AM PDT by bert
The United Auto Workers union went on strike at three plants owned by the Big Three automakers – General Motors, Ford and Stellantis – after the two sides did not reach a new labor deal on Thursday night.
The workers are striking at a GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Stellantis plant in Toledo, Ohio; and a Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan. Plants that were not called upon to strike will work without a contract, UAW President Shawn Fain said.
"The UAW Stand Up Strike begins at all three of the Big Three," the union said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after midnight on Friday.
Fain says this strategy will keep the automotive corporations guessing, with leadership determining further strikes.
UAW workers will hold a rally on Friday at 4 p.m. ET.
The main point of contention between the two sides is higher pay, with Fain saying the union is seeking a more than 40% general pay raise for rank-and-file members over four years.
Full-time assembly plant workers at Ford and GM earn $32.32 an hour, while part-timers currently make about $17 an hour. Full-time employees at Stellantis earn $31.77 an hour, and part-time workers earn close to $16 an hour.
The union is also pushing for making all temporary workers at the automakers permanent, cost-of-living adjustments, increases in pension benefits for current retirees and restoring pensions for new hires, among other benefits.
Ticker Security Last Change Change % GM GENERAL MOTORS CO. 33.66 0.00 0.00% F FORD MOTOR CO. 12.62 -0.02 -0.16% STLA STELLANTIS NV 18.84 -0.11 -0.58%
Fain has called the demands the "most audacious and ambitious list of proposals they've seen in decades."
Experts say the strike could cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars.
That is according to a new analysis from the Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan-based think tank that specializes in the economic impact of labor strikes. The report estimates that economic losses from a 10-day work stoppage could cost about $5.6 billion.
"Even a short strike would impact economies throughout Michigan and across the nation," said Patrick Anderson, CEO of the Anderson Economic Group.
That figure includes manufacturer losses of $989 million and lost direct wages of $859 million. It does not take into consideration strike pay, unemployment benefits, unemployment taxes, income taxes, government spending or settlement bonuses.
What, my car? 2008 Hummer H3, great condition. Slow seller now but figure it will move once we start getting snow.
The UNION in the Big Three has been there for OVER 70 years.
LONG before ‘foreign ‘ companies were making cars in the USA.
THANKS
GM, Ford, Stellantis Plants = Studebaker Plants
That’s my point.
The big three were forced to unionize by the government. Henry Ford despised unions and wouldn’t allow them. But all 3 were “encouraged” to accept them. And like bedbugs they are almost impossible to get rid of because of federal laws.
But foreign auto manufacturers can come in and not be hamstrung by unions. Just another way our elected reps sell us out.
Operators.....
I had to hire Union Iron workers on several TVA projects in right to work Tennessee. On one, a non union company came in and installed a shiny new crane to service their work on the elevated deck of the turbine room. Everybody came back on one Monday to see all the glass broken out and the cab trashed. The Operator’s Union was showing their love for the non Union workers with the nerve to bring a crane onto an operator’s job.
That was maybe 40 years ago but still disgusts me
Ha! That'd be doing the auto companies a favor!
Walter Reuther was great for auto manufacturers.
In Japan and Korea.
The present UAW leadership will do the same.
For China.
Just my hunch but here goes: The people that actually make the cars KNOW that eclectic cars are a hoax and want some of the bribe money Ford is taking from Joey to make believe everyone wants a EV which is just the opposite of reality. These union workers want a guarantee that they will get their money when Joey doesn’t have the bribe money to pay Ford and the other quislings.
Just my thoughts.
I was watching Biden on TV apparently speaking to the UAW about the “massive profits” the automakers have recently sustained. As I understand, their profits are pretty thin at this point, partly(or mostly?) because of their losses on EVs...which Biden is pushing when they aren’t selling well. Does Biden have any clue on what he’s doing? I am too old at this point & have never had any political aspirations at this point, but I think I could do a better job than he has. And yet Trump is the one they are fussing the most about...???? The Chinese man Sum Ting Wong saying that something does not compute here.
22 billion, 500 million.
Nice work if you can get it I guess.
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