UAW, automakers butt heads over contract

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union's leadership upped the ante Thursday in its contract negotiations with the Big 3 US automakers.

With the UAW's contract with Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis expiring on 14 September, the UAW decided on 31 August to file unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against GM and Stellantis.

UAW president Shawn Fain said the two companies were committing a "willful refusal" to bargain in good faith in a Facebook Live event on 31 August.

In an emailed statement, Stellantis said it was "shocked by Mr. Fain's claims that we have not bargained in good faith."

"This is a claim with no basis in fact, and we are disappointed to learn that Mr. Fain is more focused on filing frivolous legal charges than on actual bargaining," the company said.

"We are surprised by and strongly refute the NLRB charge filed by the International UAW," said GM's executive vice president of global manufacturing Gerald Johnson in a 31 August statement. "We believe it has no merit and is an insult to the bargaining committees. We have been hyper-focused on negotiating directly and in good faith with the UAW and are making progress."

Ford was reportedly the only company to send a proposal to the UAW, which Fain flatly rejected.

While the UAW is pushing for 40pc wage increases, Ford's chief executive Jim Farley said in a post his company is offering a 15pc pay increase through 9pc wage increases and one-time bonuses and that "this offer is significantly better than what we estimate workers earn at Tesla and foreign automakers operating in the US."

"We will not make a deal that endangers our ability to invest, grow and share profits with our employees," Farley said. "That would mortgage our future and would be harmful to everyone with a stake in Ford, including our valued UAW workers."

Fain hit back at that, making higher wages a core part of the union's negotiations.

"I want to be very clear on this point — we will expect nothing less than consistent living wages that will grow with the economy," Fain said. "If Ford thinks we will accept a single digit pay increase, and no cost of living allowance, then I hope these shareholders know how to work on an assembly line, because those are going to be the only people left to build cars come 15 September."

The UAW's Fain hit out at what he called Ford's "perma-temps" or the policy of using temporary workers instead of hiring up for full-time union jobs. Ford proposed to increase temporary worker starting pay by 20pc to $20/hr and give them a first-time contract ratification bonus of $5,500, the same amount for union employees. Farley added that temporary workers make up 2-3pc of Ford's workforce.

By Rye Druzin