Autoworkers Warn of More Aggressive Strike Strategy After a Month of Walkouts

The United Auto Workers union is warning that it can call autoworkers to strike whenever it needs to, just two days after the union asked 8,700 workers to strike the Ford Motor Co. assembly plant generating the highest revenues.

"We're entering a new phase of this fight, and it demands a new approach," UAW President Shawn Fain told members on Friday. "We're done waiting until Fridays to escalate our strike."

Roughly 33,600 autoworkers employed by General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have been called to strike the automakers since the UAW began its "stand-up strike" plans four weeks ago. The strategy allows the union to call local chapters to strike specific facilities operated by the Detroit Three, giving the UAW the power to keep the companies on their toes.

The union took Ford by surprise on Wednesday when it called 8,700 workers at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant to join the picket lines. The plant generates $25 billion in revenue for the company each year and is closely connected to 11 other facilities. The facility also makes the F-Series Super Duty, Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator, according to Ford.

The company's Chicago Assembly Complex, which assembles the Lincoln Aviator and Ford Explorer, and  Michigan Assembly Plant, which produces the Ford Bronco and Ranger, were already struck by nearly 8,000 workers.

Fain had met with Ford earlier in the day to request a new labor proposal; Ford presented the offer it had made two weeks ago, which it called its "strongest," but the UAW again declined.

Kumar Galhotra, the president of Ford's "Ford Blue" division, said on Thursday that the company has "reached our limit" and "stretched" itself to meet the UAW's economic demands. Ford's latest offer included wage hikes of 23%, with the restatement of cost-of-living adjustments and the elimination of tiers in its wage profession system.

However, the union is demanding 30% to 40% wage hikes along with a series of other economic demands and quality-of-life measures.

"They tried to give us the same deal that we rejected two weeks ago and not $1 more," Fain said." So at that point I said, 'That's all you have for us. Our members lives and my handshake are worth more than that. You just cost yourself Kentucky truck plan'."

Fain was unable to provide updates on negotiations with GM and Stellantis, adding that he had met with Stellantis earlier on Friday morning. Two of GM's assembly complexes and Stellantis' Toledo Assembly Plant, along with all 38  parts distribution centers operated by the automakers, are currently struck.

GM narrowly avoided a strike at its Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas, which makes the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade, last week after it made a huge concession to the UAW: workers at the automaker's four planned electric vehicle battery plants will be included in the union's national contract. The UAW has made winning job security at EV battery plants a central part of its latest round of negotiations with the Detroit Three.

Both GM and Stellantis have offered wage hikes of over 20% and the elimination of wage tiers for some employees, along with other benefits. Stellantis has also agreed to the UAW's cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) demands, although GM has offered "deficient" COLA, according to the union.

Ford, which has already laid off more than 1,900 workers, has said the strike against its Kentucky plant may impact approximately 100,000 jobs across the economy, citing a 2020 study from the Boston Consulting Group. Stellantis has furloughed 640 workers across three plants in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.

GM has laid off more than 2,100 workers across three facilities in Indiana, Ohio and Kansas, and idled its Fairfax Assembly Plant. Additionally, some 30% of auto parts makers surveyed by the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association have laid off workers.

The UAW's strikes have cost the automotive industry and consumers $5.5 billion in economic losses across the first three weeks of its walkouts, according to the East Lansing, Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group. The Detroit Three automakers have lost at least $2.7 billion, the firm estimates.