UAW's Shawn Fain: No new strikes for now, progress with GM, Stellantis, but not Ford

In an edgy afternoon speech, UAW President Shawn Fain noted progress Friday from General Motors and Stellantis in ongoing contract talks, but then lashed out at Ford Motor Co. for continuing to "pretend" it can't afford a better deal.

Yet, Fain did not expand the strike in his Facebook Live update to some 70,000 viewers online. Instead, he warned the members of the United Auto Workers union they should "be ready and stay ready to stand up" to take strike action at any time, saying the union still has "cards left to play" in terms of key plants it could take out at each automaker.

Fain insisted the car companies have "money left to spend" as proven by richer offers made this week by GM and Stellantis to catch up to Ford's current offer, which had been the best on the table. But Fain took an especially hard line against Ford in his presentation saying "billionaire Bill Ford" talked down to members this week, implying he would have to close the Rouge Assembly facility, where it builds its F-150 pickups, if squeezed too tight on money, while announcing this week a $600 million dividend to shareholders.

In many ways, the feisty speech could signal a tentative agreement is coming soon. Fain emphasized solidarity and holding ground to win every possible dollar that can be won.

"That’s the hardest part of a strike. Right before a deal, is when there’s the most aggressive push for that last mile," Fain said. "They want to wait us out. They want division. They want fear. They want uncertainty. What we have is our solidarity.”

Automakers react

A labor expert agreed that Fain's remarks offered a hint of inching closer to a tentative agreement.

"In between the harsh words for companies and their executives, Fain's Facebook Live session revealed significant progress on the talks, particularly at GM and Stellantis," said Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University. "However, he put the companies on notice that additional strikes may be called if they are not more forthcoming."

GM spokesman David Barnas said the company respectfully declined to comment on Fain's remarks and then pointed to its statement earlier in the day when it released the details of its latest offer, saying it "made substantial movement in all key areas."

Stellantis, in a statement, called negotiations "productive, building on the momentum from the past several weeks."

Ford spokesman Ian Thibodeau, responding to Fain's attack about shareholder dividends, wrote in an email that "shareholders are owners of the company — and they deserve to be rewarded, too, when Ford does well. ... That includes tens of thousands of UAW members who choose to invest in Ford stock in their retirement plans, buy shares in the stock market, or both. "

As to Fain's other remarks, Ford responded in a statement that "it’s good that Mr. Fain acknowledged Ford’s contract offer 'already' is a record and remains the best one on the table. ... We’re eager to conclude these negotiations with a contract that meaningfully improves their lives and provides a strong future for everyone.”

Regarding the Rouge complex, the automaker responded that it has invested in the site, including $700 million to improve production capacity for the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup. Dearborn Truck will build the new 2024 F-150. Bill Ford, during his remarks on Monday, emphasized that people had urged him to close the plant in the past and he did not, a point of pride he also highlighted in 2018 with the 100th anniversary of the historic Rouge site.

Ford has told the Free Press repeatedly that the company has included in its 2023 UAW contract offer a guarantee of products for all its U.S. plants.

More to discuss

The UAW has been on a targeted strike against the Detroit Three automakers for 36 days. There are about 34,000 UAW autoworker members on strike around the country.

Fain commended those on the picket line for their courage, saying, "Our ability to hold out and hit the companies economically, this is our leverage. We have one tool and that’s solidarity.”

He said the automakers' "path to victory" is to invoke fear, uncertainty, doubt and division by implying they may close plants or have to eliminate jobs. Fain said some union members ask when will they get to vote on some of the proposals the Detroit Three have laid out, already thinking they have gotten as much as they can get.

"I want to be clear, the membership is the highest authority of our union," Fain said. "You will always have the final say. But when we vote it will be from a place of strength. You don’t make decisions on your future from a place of fear, uncertainty or doubt. When we vote on a tentative agreement it’ll be because the leadership and your council thinks we have gotten absolutely every dollar we can."

He said the "record" contracts the automakers have touted to the public are only records because of the past concessions the union gave that it never won back.

"I also find it a pathetic irony that every time they make an offer it’s 'the best they can do, it’s a record offer' and then two days later there’s a new record," Fain said. "What that should tell you is there’s room to move.”

GM's move

Friday morning GM made a new contract proposal to the UAW that offers higher wages, an improved cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) formula, a faster path to the top wage for hourly employees and better pay for temporary employees.

More:UAW strike hits 1 month mark as some workers grow impatient: Where things stand

The move came a day after Gerald Johnson, GM's executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability, said in a video the company could not meet all of the UAW's demands without a "devastating" impact on jobs. He said GM believed it had already presented the union with a compelling and "historic" offer and could not meet Fain's list of demands because it needs profits to invest in the future.

“This week while we were literally at the bargaining table, GM released a video and in that video a millionaire GM executive asked our members directly, 'With all that on the table why are we on strike?’ “ Fain said. "The next day, wage increase goes up, the progression goes down and the retirement money goes up. That’s why we’re on strike. These extremely profitable companies have more to give.”

The latest offers

Here are the highlights, according to Fain:

• Wages: All three companies have offered a 23% wage increase over the life of the contract.
• Wage tiers: At all three companies “we have killed massive wage tiers. This is a major win and it’s been a major priority.”
• Progression period to the highest wage: Ford is down to three years; Stellantis, four years; GM is three years for all current employees and four years for future hires. “That’s not going to fly. If Ford can do it, so can GM and Stellantis.”
• Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA): Ford to reinstate cost-of-living to what it was in 2009. "At GM we are close with some tweaks left to make” and Stellantis has offered a “deficient COLA” formula that doesn’t kick in for the first year.
• Profit-sharing: At all three companies the union “beat back concessionary” profit-sharing proposals, Fain said. At Ford, temps with 90-days will be eligible to receive profit-sharing checks. GM has proposed including temps that have 1,000 hours on the job, at Stellantis “we’ve maintained, but haven’t won eligibility for temp workers” to receive profit-sharing yet.
• Temps: Ford and GM have raised the wage for temporary workers from $16.67 now to $21 an hour and improved the wait till permanent positions. At Stellantis the temp wage remains $20 an hour.
• Job security: Ford and Stellantis granted the right to strike over plant closures, but GM has not.
• Retirement: All three are offering a $3 increase to the pension multiplier. Ford and Stellantis are offering 9.5% employer contribution to the 401(k) plans, GM is offering 8%.
• Retirees: For current retirees, Ford is offering a $250 annual lump sum payment, GM is offering a one-time $1,000 lump sum payment, and Stellantis is not offering anything..

Target: Nonunion businesses

Labor expert Harley Shaiken said of the automakers' offers, "Impressive union gains to date, but further progress moving slowly."

Shaiken, a professor emeritus at the University of California-Berkeley, said that Fain not expanding the strike indicates the talks are on track and "with thoughts of the holidays beginning to appear, more pressure could follow for a settlement."

Fain did not expand the strike after his weekly update last Friday. At that time, he said the UAW was entering a new phase of the fight where he would no longer give notice of strike targets, but rather it will be prepared to call on more locals to take strike action when necessary.

Fain finished his remarks with another goal: to help recruit other nonunion businesses to union membership.

"We will win. Not just a good contract. Not just a record contract. But a contract that turns the tide," Fain said. "A contract that finally, finally starts to make things right at the Big Three and for autoworkers everywhere.”

Free Press staff writers Phoebe Wall Howard and Eric D. Lawrence contributed to this report.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.