As GM Authority has extensively covered, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union’s current contract with the Big Three – which includes General Motors, Ford and Stellantis – is set to expire soon. With new negotiations scheduled to commence on July 13th, 2023, UAW President Shawn Fain has gone on record saying that the union is not afraid to go on strike.
According to a report from Reuters, Fain stated that the UAW is prepared to go on strike with any of the Big Three if it doesn’t receive what it perceives as a fair contract. Notably, the union represents 150,000 U.S. hourly workers across GM, Ford, and Stellantis.
“The Big Three is our strike target. And whether or not there’s a strike, it’s up to Ford, General Motors and Stellantis,” UAW President Shawn Fain was quoted as saying. “They’ve made a quarter of a trillion dollars in North American profits over the last 10 years and they can afford to make things right for our members. If the Big Three don’t give us our fair share, then they’re choosing to strike themselves and we’re not afraid to take action.”
It’s worth noting that Stellantis is first up in negotiations, with The General and Ford set to follow on July 18th, 2023. With this in mind, Stellantis released a statement stating that its “focus will be on negotiating a contract that will ensure our future competitiveness in today’s rapidly changing global market and preserve good wages and benefits that recognize the contributions of our represented workforce.”
As a reminder, the UAW has adopted an aggressive stance towards the upcoming negotiations, which leads many to believe that talks between the Big Three and the union will be quite heated. Most recently, UAW officials accused Detroit of neglecting their workers while raking in over $250 billion in profits over the course of the past 10 years, as well as granting executives massive rewards.
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