The United Auto Workers union has again escalated its strike against major Detroit automakers, this time adding plants that build Ram pickup trucks for Stellantis.
The union said 6,800 members went on strike Monday morning and shut down the assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Miss., a huge profit center for the company.
The latest strike action comes three days after the union was formed President Sean Fein It reported progress in talks with General Motors and Stellantis, but said the companies would have to come up with better offers. There has been no progress on Ford’s part, which said last week its offer was the best of the three.
this The union went on strike on September 15 At one assembly plant in each company. About 41,000 workers are currently on strike at the three major automakers. The strike, now in its sixth week, covers seven assembly plants and 38 parts warehouses. About 28% of unionized employees at the three companies are currently on strike.
General Motors and Ford, which raised their offers last week, were spared the latest upgrades. Initially, the union avoided striking at pickup and large SUV plants, which produce the vehicles that generate the most profits for the company. But that changed two weeks ago, when the United Auto Workers destroyed the massive Ford heavy-duty pickup and SUV plant in Louisville, Kentucky.
In previous strikes, the union targeted one specific company and reached an agreement that became a model for agreements with two other companies.
The union said in a statement that the offer for Stellantis, formed by the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group, lagged behind Ford and General Motors even though the automaker has the highest revenue and profits of the three.
Stellantis offers the worst offers in terms of rising costs of living, the speed at which workers are promoted to top wages, temporary worker wages, and more. Convert temporary workers to full-time employeesand other issues, the union said.
Stellantis said in a statement that it was “outraged” that the Sterling Heights plant was placed on the strike list because the company raised its offer on Thursday but had not yet received a response from the UAW. The company said the new proposals include a 23% salary increase over four years, a nearly 50% increase in retirement savings contributions and increased job security provisions.
“Our very strong offer will meet the needs of our members and provide direct financial benefits to our employees,” the statement read. “Instead, the UAW has decided to take action against the entire auto industry and our local, state and national further damage to the economy.”
With each additional factory, the union would “sacrifice domestic market share for non-union competition,” hurting the company’s investment and competitiveness, the statement said.
The union is expected to make counteroffers to Stellantis and GM soon.
DeSean McKinley, 45, of Detroit, who has worked at the Sterling Heights plant for nine years, was surprised by the strike but said he supported the union’s action.
“Now, here we are, fighting for unity – fighting for what is right for us,” McKinley said. “We’re not going to continue playing. So we’re going to shut down your bread and butter.”
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said that by tearing down the Stellantis plant, the union is sending a signal to Ford and General Motors asking them to raise their offers. Last week, a deal appeared to be underway, but Fein said on Friday the companies would need to pay more.
“At least for now, that requires abandoning a potential agreement that’s already on the table,” Ives said, predicting the union would announce a new strike location later this week. “There may be some tough negotiations ahead,” Ives said.
On Friday, Fain said Stellantis and GM have offered wages that match Ford’s 23 percent salary level over the four-year contract. But the union president, in characteristically pointed tones, insisted the companies could go further.
“We still have cards to play and they have money to spend,” Fein said.
While Fein said the companies continue to claim they have made record offers to the UAW, he said those offers were not enough to cover the losses of ground workers over the past two decades. Fein said every time an automaker made an offer, they insisted it was the best they could make, only to come back days later with a better offer.
“That should tell you,” Fein said, “that there’s room to move.”
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