Current:Home > Contact-usThe UAW unveils major plan if talks with Big 3 automakers fail: The 'stand up strike'-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
The UAW unveils major plan if talks with Big 3 automakers fail: The 'stand up strike'
View Date:2024-12-23 20:21:39
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain has a big plan in case the Big Three automakers fail to agree on a new contract by the looming deadline: He calls it the "stand up strike."
Under the plan disclosed by Fain on Facebook Live on Wednesday, UAW union members would be instructed to strike suddenly at strategic, targeted auto plants — and additional locations would follow at a moment's notice, unless the automakers agree to new contracts before the current ones expire just before midnight on Thursday.
A gradual escalation of the strikes across the three companies, Fain said, would keep Stellantis, Ford and GM on their toes about how their operations would be disrupted, giving the union more leverage.
Only workers at a specific set of plants – to be announced Thursday evening – would walk off the job initially, while all others would keep working under expired contracts.
"It's going to keep (the companies) guessing on what might happen next, and it's going to turbocharge the power of our negotiators to be as effective as possible," Fain said.
The strategy hearkens back to sit down strikes of the 1930s, when GM workers physically occupied plants in protest of economic inequality.
"We're living in a time of stunning inequality throughout our society," Fain said. "We're living in a time where our industry is undergoing massive transformations, and we're living in a time where our labor movement is redefining itself."
Far apart
Fain disclosed the strike plans as he told UAW union members that they still stand far apart in contract negotiations with the Big 3.
Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have all raised their pay raise proposals since their opening bids – but to no more than 20%, just half of the union's 40% ask, Fain said.
The companies have also rejected the union's pension and retiree healthcare proposals, according to Fain. Other economic issues, including cost of living adjustments and profit sharing, remain points of contention.
"We do not yet have offers on the table that reflect the sacrifice and contributions our members have made to these companies," Fain told union members. "To win, we'll likely have to take action."
Deadline looms
A targeted strike plan has not traditionally been in the UAW's playbook. Historically, UAW strikes have involved all union members at a single company walking off the job at once.
Fain did not entirely rule out a coordinated strike across all plants, but he said the new "stand up strike" offers the union "maximum flexibility."
In a statement responding to UAW's strike preparations, Ford CEO Jim Farley said the automaker has put forth four "increasingly generous" offers. Ford remains "ready to reach a deal," Farley said.
"The future of our industry is at stake," Farley said. "Let's do everything we can to avert a disastrous outcome."
Fain said he, along with other top UAW leaders and Sen. Bernie Sanders, will attend a rally in Detroit on Friday, regardless of how negotiations pan out over the next 24 hours.
"I want you to be ready to stand up against corporate greed," Fain told UAW members on Wednesday. "So let's stand up and make history together."
veryGood! (7)
Related
- 'Climate change is real': New York parks employee killed as historic drought fuels blazes
- The Scarf Jacket Is Winter’s Most Viral Trend, Get It for $27 With These Steals from Amazon and More
- How Shohei Ohtani can opt out of his $700 million contract with Los Angeles Dodgers
- Why Twilight’s Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson “Never Really Connected on a Deep Level”
- Amazon launches an online discount storefront to better compete with Shein and Temu
- Stock market today: Asian shares are mostly higher after the Dow hits a record high, US dollar falls
- Big pharmacies could give your prescription info to cops without a warrant, Congress finds
- Israel vows to fight on in Gaza despite deadly ambush and rising international pressure
- Federal judge denies request to block measure revoking Arkansas casino license
- Dakota Johnson says she sleeps up to 14 hours per night. Is too much sleep a bad thing?
Ranking
- When is 'The Golden Bachelorette' finale? Date, time, where to watch Joan Vassos' big decision
- Veteran Taj Gibson rejoining New York Knicks, reuniting with Thibodeau
- 4 scenarios that can ignite a family fight — and 12 strategies to minimize them
- The Republican leading the probe of Hunter Biden has his own shell company and complicated friends
- Sean Diddy Combs' Lawyers File New Motion for Bail, Claiming Evidence Depicts a Consensual Relationship
- The Republican leading the probe of Hunter Biden has his own shell company and complicated friends
- US judge to weigh cattle industry request to halt Colorado wolf reintroduction
- Putin questions Olympic rules for neutral Russian athletes at Paris Games
Recommendation
-
When do new episodes of 'Cobra Kai' Season 6 come out? Release date, cast, where to watch
-
Experts at odds over result of UN climate talks in Dubai; ‘Historic,’ ‘pipsqueak’ or something else?
-
Pope, once a victim of AI-generated imagery, calls for treaty to regulate artificial intelligence
-
What I Learned About Clean Energy in Denmark
-
Ryan Reynolds Clarifies Taylor Swift’s Role as Godmother to His Kids With Blake Lively
-
Finland, NATO’s newest member, will sign a defense pact with the United States
-
Female soccer fans in Iran allowed into Tehran stadium for men’s game. FIFA head praises progress
-
Colombian congressional panel sets probe into president over alleged campaign finance misdeeds