Three weeks into the historic United Auto Workers strike, the union’s president announced that “significant progress” has been made in talks with the Big Three automakers.
UAW President Shawn Fain, clad in a shirt emblazoned with the anti-capitalist slogan “Eat the Rich,” told union members that their strikes at dozens of Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors facilities across the country have begun to move the needle in negotiations and have won some key concessions from the automakers.
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Fain said that GM, under the threat of a strike at one of its most lucrative plants, had agreed to put workers at electric vehicle battery plants under the union’s national agreement. That’s 2 1/2 times higher than Ford’s original offer, according to Fain.
He also said that Ford has agreed to 23% wage hikes for workers, which is more than GM or Stellantis and a number that is getting closer to the union’s demands.
He said GM and Stellantis were trailing Ford at 20%.
“And we think they can catch up and then some,” Fain said during the Facebook livestream.
The union boss said his members had heard for years that cost-of-living allowances were a thing of the past and that workers wouldn’t get that back. But he announced on Friday that, three weeks into the strike, two of the Big Three automakers are committed to returning to a cost-of-living formula dating back to 2007.
The strike itself is historic. The last time the UAW had work stoppages was four years ago when there was a six-week strike against GM, which had major economic repercussions. But this time is different. This strike is the first-ever work stoppage to involve all three big Detroit automakers.
As the strike continues or even grows in scale, it will garner more attention, given the effects it will have on the overall economy.
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Fain vowed that the strikes will continue until the union is satisfied that its members are getting a fair contract.
“It’s not about theatrics. It’s about power,” he said. “The power we have as working-class people. We’ve shown the Big Three that we’re not afraid to use it. And we’ve shown the Big Three that we are ready for a record contract when they are.”
