UAW President Shawn Fain says he won't shake automaker CEO hands until a deal is reached

Labor talks between the United Auto Workers and Detroit's three automakers will begin this week without the usual public handshake ceremonies between the two sides.

The break from tradition is another sign of the new UAW leaders' determination to operate differently from their predecessors as they signal their demands to restore benefits lost for new hires following the Great Recession and auto bankruptcies. Those demands include re-establishing cost-of-living adjustments, sweetening pensions and setting tier-free wage scales as well as forging the precedent for paying workers in plants building electric vehicles and their batteries.

The automakers, meanwhile, want to ensure they have the cost structure to compete in the capital-hungry transformation to zero-emission transportation — a growing space filled with start-ups, legacy rivals, EV heavyweight Tesla Inc. and Chinese EV players armed with dramatically less expensive battery-powered vehicles eyeing the rich U.S. market.

UAW President Shawn Fain has called employers like General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV the union's "enemies." Gestures at previous handshake events — particularly a hug between convicted former UAW President Dennis Williams and Sergio Marchionne, the late former CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV before it merged to create Stellantis — have become symbols of the years-long corruption scandal that entailed FCA executives bribing officials of the Detroit-based union.

"They are a thing of the past," Marick Masters, a business professor and former director of labor at Wayne State University, said about the handshake ceremonies. "A new dawn has arrived and a new way of doing business with these companies is being conducted. It reveals that the UAW is taking a more arms-length approach."

Negotiations with Stellantis will begin on Thursday, with Ford on Friday and with GM on July 18. The UAW hasn't announced a lead company; one often is selected around Labor Day. The current contracts are set to expire on Sept. 14.

Instead of the traditional handshakes, Fain, Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock and the three vice presidents — Chuck Browning, Mike Booth and Rich Boyer — will meet with members on Wednesday at Stellantis' Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, GM's Factory Zero Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Complex and Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. Prior to that at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Fain will host a Facebook Live on the UAW's page.

“The members come first,” Fain said in a statement. “I’ll shake hands with the CEOs when they come to the table with a deal that reflects the needs of the workers who make this industry run. When the 150,000 autoworkers at Ford, GM, and Stellantis receive the respect they are due for their sacrifice in generating the historic profits of the past decade, then we can proceed with a handshake.” 

In 2022, GM, Stellantis and Ford reported adjusted operating income in North America, respectively, of $13 billion, $15 billion and $9.2 billion.

Now, following months of the highest rates of inflation seen in recent years, workers say they want more to make the physically demanding jobs worth it.

"The cost of living has gone up," said Dajuan Hampton, 42, of Detroit, who works in materials at Stellantis NV's Warren Truck Assembly Plant where the Wagoneer SUVs and Ram 1500 Classic are built. "It’s almost not even worth it to work here. I still have my pension and stuff like that. I feel it's owed. There are long-term physical and mental effects" of this job.

So long as the union leaders follow up with the rank-and-file about what is happening at table, Hampton said he's willing to back the actions they take, even if it means a strike.

"This perhaps may be letting the workers know they're not coming in buddy-buddy," Hamtpon said about leaders skipping the handshake ceremony. "'We’re not friends until we are friends.' They have to earn it. We’re not negotiating as buddies no longer. I think that says a lot. I feel safe."

The talks will be far-reaching, touching wage scales, bonuses, profit sharing, health care, training, plant schedules and other benefits. Additionally, product allocation, job security and the future of Stellantis' indefinitely idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois will be on the table.

Referring to a previously provided statement, GM spokesman David Barnas said the Detroit automaker "is committed to providing jobs that support American workers, their families, and the communities where they live and work. We have a long history of negotiating fair contracts with the UAW that reward our employees and support the long-term success of our business."

Added Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker: “Ford is proud to build more vehicles in America and employ more UAW-represented hourly workers in America than any other automaker. We look forward to working with the UAW on creative solutions during this time when our dramatically changing industry needs a skilled and competitive workforce more than ever.”

At the end of the day, how that comes to happen at the bargaining table is what will matter, WSU's Masters said. Although the decision to skip the handshakes may be more noise than substantive, the action underscores the seriousness and aggressiveness of the union's new leadership in approaching the parties' differences like the proper pay level for battery manufacturing workers and benefits of workers with less seniority.

"They're symbolically posturing to the rank and file," Masters said. There's "an ideological shift on the part of the UAW and moving away from what you might call the neoliberal policies of the last several decades to a more socialistic conception of workplace relations. They are not wanting this to be a race to the bottom."

bnoble@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @BreanaCNoble