Oct. 6 (UPI) — Wearing an “Eat The Rich” T-shirt, UAW President Shawn Fain announced a major breakthrough during a live stream update on the ongoing auto strike. The breakthrough involves bringing GM’s EV battery workers under UAW contracts.
“Moments before broadcast, we reached a major breakthrough that dramatically changes negotiations and the future of our industry,” said Fain. “GM has agreed to place electric battery manufacturing under UAW master bargaining agreement.”
Speaking about GM’s Arlington, Texas, plant, Fain revealed that the UAW was prepared to strike on Friday, describing it as GM’s most profitable facility. He stated that this threat led to a “transformative win.”
“Today, under the threat of a major financial hit, they leapfrogged the pack in a major transition,” Fain said. “Our strike is working.”
Fain further explained that GM has now laid the foundation for a just transition for autoworkers to the EV auto industry.
However, despite the progress made during the 22 days of the strike, no tentative agreements have been reached with the Detroit Three automakers yet. A UAW solidarity rally is scheduled for Saturday in Chicago.
The UAW is demanding record contracts for its members, considering the record-high profits of U.S. automakers.
“This strike is about righting the wrongs of the past and winning justice for all of our members,” Fain emphasized. “We are winning. We are making progress and we are headed in the right direction.”
According to GM, the strike has cost the company approximately $200 million. GM made a sixth offer to the UAW after meeting with Fain at the UAW’s Solidarity House in Detroit.
“We can confirm that we provided a counter offer to the UAW’s most recent proposal — our sixth since the start of negotiations. We believe we have a compelling offer that would reward our team members and allow GM to succeed and thrive into the future. We continue to stand ready and willing to negotiate in good faith 24/7 to reach an agreement,” GM stated to the Detroit Free Press.
“CEO’s are trying to trivialize our strike. We want the public to understand our fight and to stand with us as poll after poll shows that they do,” added Fain. “We’ve shown the Big Three we are not afraid to use our power.”
Fain revealed that progress has been made on various issues, including wages, cost-of-living adjustments, profit sharing, temporary workers, and wage progression. Ford, for instance, made a comprehensive offer with a 26% pay increase over four years and the conversion of all temporary employees to permanent status within 90 days of hire.
Despite Ford’s increased offer, it still falls short of the UAW’s demands. Fain mentioned that Ford and Stellantis are committed to returning to the 2007 COLA formula, and GM is not far behind on that issue.
Last Friday, Fain extended the strike by calling an additional 7,000 Ford and GM workers in Chicago and Michigan to join the picket lines.
While the Big Three automakers argue that matching record company profits with record contracts is unsustainable, Fain and the UAW rank and file assert that they deserve more and that the companies have the means to pay them now. They believe this would compensate for the major concessions made by the UAW during the Detroit Three’s financial crisis in 2008.
Fain stressed that the UAW does not strike “for the hell of it.” Instead, their mission is to “fight like hell” for the best possible deal.
“GM agreed to put the future of this industry under our national agreement. This result is directly due to the power of our membership,” Fain concluded. “We’re not gonna wait around forever. We’re not here to start a fight. We’re here to finish one.”
