United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain (center) marches with UAW members through downtown Detroit after a rally in support of the union’s members as they strike the Big Three automakers, Detroit, Michigan, Sept. 15, 2023.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images
DETROIT — Major automakers are challenging the United Auto Workers’ motives behind targeted strikes following leaked messages by a union director suggesting a strategy to “keep them wounded for months.”
The leaked private group messages on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, reveal UAW communications director Jonah Furman discussing how the union’s public posturing of issues and targeted strikes can cause “recurring reputational damage and operational chaos” for the automakers.
The messages, viewed by CNBC and first reported by The Detroit News, contradict UAW President Shawn Fain’s public statements that the union has been negotiating in good faith and is available “24/7 to bargain a deal.”
“It is now evident that the UAW leadership always intended to disrupt operations for months, regardless of the harm inflicted on its members and their communities,” General Motors stated in an email. “The leaked information raises questions about who truly holds the reins of UAW strategy and demonstrates a callous disregard for the gravity of the situation.”
Executives from the automakers, including GM CEO Mary Barra and Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley, have expressed frustration with the union’s bargaining, or lack thereof, leading up to the union-imposed strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14.
Ford communications chief Mark Truby expressed disappointment in a statement on Friday, stating that the leaked messages are “disappointing, to say the least, given what is at stake for our employees, the companies, and this region.”
Chrysler-parent Stellantis described the messages as “incredibly disturbing” and stated that they “strongly indicate that the UAW’s approach to these talks is not in the best interest of the workforce.”
“We are disappointed that it appears our employees are being used as pawns in an agenda that does not prioritize their needs,” Stellantis said in an email statement.
Furman, who has been available throughout the negotiations, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Friday. Calls to his phone went unanswered and went straight to voicemail.
In response to The Detroit News, Furman neither confirmed nor denied writing the messages, but reportedly referred to them as “private messages” that “you shouldn’t have.”
Furman, a former staff writer and organizer for Labor Notes, is involved in the union’s messaging, media communications, speechwriting, and internal communications.
The leaked messages were revealed as Fain announced additional plants the union plans to strike as part of its “stand-up strikes,” a tribute to the historic “sit-down” strikes by the UAW in the 1930s.
In one of the messages, Furman describes Fain, who has recently incorporated faith and worship into his messages to union members, as “our folksy Gen-X, class-struggle Christian white dude from Indiana who quotes Malcolm X.”
The extended strikes persist despite record contract offers from the automakers, including approximately 20% hourly wage increases, substantial bonuses, retention of the union’s platinum healthcare, and other improved benefits.
The union has demanded 40% hourly pay increases, a shorter workweek, a return to traditional pensions, the elimination of compensation tiers, and the restoration of cost-of-living adjustments, among other contract improvements.
Each automaker has stated their commitment to continue collective bargaining with UAW negotiators in an effort to reach tentative agreements for the 146,000 autoworkers covered by the contracts.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
