Melissa Holman of Local 372 joins in with others chanting a rallying cry in front of the Stellantis Trenton Engine Plant in Trenton on Thursday, September 7, 2023. The workers want a fair contract and listen to speakers from politicians to UAW leaders.
The news of late has been heavy on the possibility, or likelihood depending on your source, of a UAW strike against the Detroit Three.
Talks with Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis have been tense, no doubt. UAW President Shawn Fain and other union leaders have stressed their desire for the companies to share more of their hefty profits with autoworkers, who, they note, sacrificed to help the companies survive during tougher times. The companies have said they need to keep costs under control so they can make the expensive transition to electric vehicle production and remain competitive.
So how’d we get here, with a potential strike of one or more of the automakers just days away? This situation has been building for months, or perhaps years or decades if you follow the union’s perspective. Here’s a short breakdown of some of the key events and dates from late last year to this week to provide a snapshot of the journey:
Belvidere − Dec. 9, 2022
Stellantis announced plans to idle the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois, where it produced the Jeep Cherokee SUV, attributing the decision to the high cost of the electric vehicle transition. Ever since, the move has provided fuel for union arguments about the potential impact of the EV transition on workers and about the need for job security. It's also seen as a potential issue to be resolved in bargaining.
The possibility of a strike likely increased exponentially when a winner was declared in the contentious and drawn out election for UAW president, with Shawn Fain besting Ray Curry, then the incumbent, and in other top union races. That contest, the union’s first direct election of top leaders and one highlighted by concerns about low participation, was set in motion by an agreement with the U.S. government related to a long-running corruption scandal that sent ex-union officials, including two former presidents, and automotive executives to prison. Fain and his allies struck a much more heated tone than those they replaced in talking about the needs of autoworkers.
UAW special bargaining convention − March 27-29
A day after being sworn in, Fain declared “a new day in the UAW” and put a figurative bullseye on “multibillion-dollar corporations and employers who refuse to give our members their fair share,” during the first day of the union’s three-day special bargaining convention in Detroit. That convention, which included a speech by the leader of the union representing Canadian autoworkers that is also in negotiations with the Detroit Three, set priorities for this year’s bargaining and offered a chance for the union to start showcasing images of solidarity after months of division during the election. In one notable moment, UAW Vice President Chuck Browning, who ran on Curry’s slate, declared Fain his president and said “we’re sticking together, and we’re taking on the boss.”
No handshakes − July 12
Automakers and union leaders had followed a script of sorts for years when it came time to open contract talks. That script, in the form of a ceremonial handshake between the UAW president and company leaders, was thrown out the window this year. The UAW wanted a deal first. To highlight a change in focus, Fain and others met with the rank-and-file outside plant gates for a “members’ handshake.”
Talks open − July 13-18
Initial bargaining meetings usually help set a tone for talks but aren’t necessarily expected to lead to big headlines. Bargaining is a long process, after all. But this year, the UAW and the companies have been much more likely to bring updates from their perspective directly to members and the public. In the case of Stellantis talks, that led to the union calling out both the company’s chief operating officer for North America, Mark Stewart, and its CEO, Carlos Tavares, for being late to that first meeting and for opting not to attend, respectively. The company, for its part, said the meeting went well.
Big profits − July 25-27
Few things have provided the level of fodder for union talking points that corporate finances have. With contract talks open, the automakers followed their corporate calendars and told the world they’d made billions of dollars in profits. Ford and GM announced their second-quarter earnings, reporting $1.9 billion and $2.5 billion in net income, respectively, and Stellantis reported its first half earnings, an eye-popping $12 billion in net profit. The companies have pointed to the sizable profit-sharing checks that autoworkers have realized in recent years to argue that union members benefit from those big numbers. The union’s response to the profit-sharing message would be to highlight the much bigger compensation numbers that the CEOs pull in.
The circular file − Aug. 8
During one of his more notable Facebook Live sessions, Fain literally threw contract proposals from Stellantis in the wastebasket. "Seeing this trash coming from Stellantis' leadership, I thought it was imperative to make you understand where we're headed," he told viewers. Fain said the company was attempting to gut benefits, and he urged the companies to get serious about bargaining. Stewart, the top Stellantis official for North America, said in a letter to employees later that the “theatrics and personal insults” wouldn’t help get to an agreement and he insisted the company was indeed serious about bargaining. The company might not have liked having its proposal thrown in the trash, but the union clearly got lots of media mileage out of the image and featured a wastebasket for proposals from all three companies prominently in a subsequent Facebook Live session.
Strike authorization vote results− Aug. 25
No one who watches the auto industry closely had any doubt union members would authorize a strike, should the need arise at contract expiration. The question was how wide the margin would be. Across all three automakers the vote was an “overwhelming” 97%. The union didn’t release how many of the approximately 150,000 autoworkers voted, but those who did clearly supported giving leadership the ability to call for a strike. A failure to give the union’s bargaining team this tool has been compared to sending a warrior into battle without a weapon.
Unfair labor practice charges − Aug. 31
The union turned up the heat against two of the Detroit Three when it filed unfair labor practice charges against Stellantis and GM (but not Ford) over accusations they weren’t bargaining in good faith. Fain announced the move in a livestream event. The news “shocked” Stellantis and “surprised” GM, and both indicated they would fight the charges.
The deadline − Sept. 14
The current four-year contracts between the companies and the union are in effect until 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14. Fain has repeatedly described that moment as a deadline, not a reference point. He’s also said the union is ready to strike any of the automakers where a deal has not been reached by that time. Barring an unexpected and unlikely extension of the contract, if no deal is reached by the end of the day on the 14th, union members would be set for a strike. Once deals are reached, members would be asked to vote on the agreements at their respective companies.
Staff writers Jamie L. LaReau and Phoebe Wall Howard contributed to this report. Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.
