UAW may implement targeted strikes if no deals reached with automakers

DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union plans targeted strikes at certain plants if a temporary contract with Detroit automakers is not reached. General Motors, Ford and starThat’s according to union officials briefed on the matter late Tuesday.

The plan could change depending on how negotiations progress ahead of Thursday’s 11:59 p.m. ET deadline, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been made public to union members.

A targeted strike is a work stoppage only at certain plants involving local contract issues, which are present in many, if not most, plants. By contrast, the last round of negotiations at GM four years ago saw a nationwide strike in which all union members walked out of factories.

UAW President Shawn Fain is expected to outline strike strategy to union members in a Facebook Live event Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET.

Fein and other leaders have repeatedly said they have a plan if a deal isn’t reached by the deadline, including a possible strike against all three automakers and having some 146,000 UAW members on picket lines instead of factories. Wire.

Conducting targeted strikes can be complicated because it’s unclear how one plant will affect others. These actions could push non-striking union members into the unemployment line if their state allows them to receive any benefits while out of work due to a strike.

Companies can also replace striking workers by choosing to lock them out (deny employment) or hire permanent replacements.

Targeted strikes will save unions cash because they won’t have to pay “strike wages” to as many members from their $825 million strike fund.

The fund pays each eligible member $500 a week, meaning it has enough cash for about 11 weeks if everyone goes on strike. However, this does not include the health care costs that the union will bear, such as the temporary COBRA program, which could run out of money faster.

The UAW declined to comment on the strategy, which was first reported Tuesday Reported by the Detroit Free Press. The plan was called a “standing strike, rather than the sit-down strikes of 1936 and ’37,” the newspaper said.

After reports of the union’s plans, Ford CEO Jim Farley said late Tuesday night that the company was “optimistic that we can reach an agreement with the UAW within the next two days.”

Farley said negotiators were sleeping in the company’s offices trying to hammer out a deal with the union.