The United Auto Workers labor union, or UAW, intends to start contract negotiations with GM and the other two companies making up the “Detroit Three” over the next two weeks as the current four-year contract nears its expiration.
UAW negotiators will start talks with The General last of all, according to a recent Reuters report.
Talks with cross-town rival Stellantis – the parent of Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and a dozen other automotive brands – will begin first, on Thursday, July 13th, 2023, per statements by the UAW. Union negotiations with Ford will start the next day, Friday, July 14th, and talks with GM will begin last of all on next Tuesday, July 18th.
The UAW has its sights set on several ambitious negotiating goals, seeking several major changes to the union contract rather than simply looking for renewal of current contractual terms, which are set to expire in September 2023.
According to Reuters, one significant demand is the return of retiree benefits and cost-of-living pay adjustments, which were dropped almost a decade and a half ago during the Great Recession. Another is elimination of the two-tier pay system that sees new workers receive up to 25 percent less pay than longer-term members. A third demand is unionization of GM’s growing number of Ultium battery plants.
The UAW continues to use the militant, aggressive tone adopted by its recently elected president Shawn Fain and other leadership figures. In a mid-June video, the UAW accused the Detroit Three of neglecting their workers while richly rewarding their executives out of the over $250 billion in profits raked in by the automakers during the past 10 years.
The union’s vice president Rich Boyer stated “Big Three executives have lavished themselves with fat salaries while auto workers continue to live paycheck-to-paycheck, and can’t even keep up with inflation.” UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock followed up by remarking “we want strong job security guarantees that protect our work, families, and communities.”
The report notes the UAW has also held off on endorsing President Joe Biden’s bid for reelection. The union offered sharp criticism of Biden’s EV policy, with UAW president Fain blasting the government’s “giveaways” to automakers for the switch to electric vehicles.
Fain further noted the Detroit Three are pursuing their battery plant development plans with “no consideration for wages, working conditions, union rights or retirement security.” Outside analysts partly echo some of his criticisms by predicting billions in automaker losses leading to more job and wage cuts, directly caused by the switch to low-volume, costly EVs.
Further EV-related disputes between GM and the UAW recently arose over safety issues at the GM Ultium Cells LLC plant in Ohio. Shawn Fain once again weighed in, remarking “it’s not just the low pay, these jobs are often dangerous” and declaring “it’s time to build an EV industry that puts workers first.”
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If stellantis is worried about going bankrupt maybe the Ceo of stellantis should cut his salary. 24.8 million dollars 2022. Tell me what did he do to help build any of the parts of the vehicles stellantis sells besides sit in a cozy office? The cheapest vehicle stellantis has starts at 36,000 dollars! Someone make the numbers make sense. Labor cost in making their vehicles is only 3%. It's clear stellantis doesn't have any concept of the average working Americans make. When Chrysler was Chrysler they sold vehicles like the neon and stratus that very affordable for the average workers to purchase. Base model of brand new dodge neon was 19,000. The foreign auto manufacturers have had affordable vehicles for awhile now. Stellantis are very greedy and selfish. It's funny how most people have negative comments about the Uaw workers hourly rate, the same people who built the vehicles and will have broken down bodies from years of making sure that stellantis makes billions, but no one has anything to say about the salary paid to the Ceo of stellantis. As always the rich continues to get richer off the backs of people who have put their all into their jobs. There should be no reason why they can't hire people full time and pay them more than 18.00 an hour. Stellantis has temporarily workers who have been temporary for over 5 years. They don't receive any decent benefits, no bonuses and no vacation or paid days off. The 2 tier doesn't have a pension plan offered to them for after they work 30 years or more have nothing to show for it or to take care of themselves and their families during the golden years.