By David Shepardson and Joseph White
DETROIT (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union plans to strike additional Detroit Three automotive facilities on Friday if there is not serious progress in labor negotiations, a source familiar with the talks said.
UAW President Shawn Fain plans to announce new targets at 10 a.m. ET Friday in online remarks and workers would walk out of those sites at noon, the source said. The UAW is expected to continue the walkouts currently underway until a new contract is ratified, the source said.
The UAW launched its walkouts on Sept. 15, its first simultaneous strikes at Detroit automakers General Motors, Chrysler parent Stellantis and Ford Motor. The union on Sept. 22 expanded its strikes against GM and Stellantis, but kept its Ford walkout limited to a single plant. It is unclear whether Ford will be targeted in the next round of actions.
The union historically has picked one of the Detroit Three to negotiate with first as the so-called target that sets the pattern on which subsequent deals are based. This time, Fain targeted all three companies simultaneously.
The UAW and GM plan talks on Wednesday afternoon, two sources familiar with the discussions said.
GM, Ford and Stellantis were not immediately available for comment.
The automakers and the UAW remain far apart on core issues of pay, retirement benefits and time off. Fain has stuck with a demand for 40% pay increases over four years. The automakers, in separate proposals, are offering roughly 20%. The UAW is pushing automakers to eliminate the two-tier wage system under which new hires can earn far less than veterans.
Long walkouts at factories producing large pickup trucks could cost the automakers billions in revenue and profit. Analysts estimate GM, Ford and Stellantis earn as much as $15,000 per vehicle on each of their respective large pickup models.
The automakers, like their global counterparts, have been focused on cost reductions, which in some cases include job cuts, to help accelerate a shift to electric vehicles from gasoline-powered vehicles.
The UAW, which represents 46,000 workers at GM, 57,000 at Ford and 43,000 at Stellantis, kicked off negotiations with the companies in July.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday joined a picket line with striking autoworkers in Michigan, supporting their call for a 40% pay raise and saying they deserve a “lot more” than they are getting. Biden’s appearance was the first visit by a U.S. president to striking workers in modern history.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for the 2024 nomination, will speak to workers in Michigan on Wednesday at a non-union auto manufacturer.
The visits by Biden and Trump highlight the importance of union support in the 2024 presidential election, even though union members represent a tiny fraction of U.S. worker.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Joseph White; Editing by Leslie Adler)
