The American Auto Workers Alliance scores a victory… and there is no intention to expand the strike
The head of the Auto Workers Alliance, Sean Fine, said on Friday that Ford, General Motors and Stellantis will avoid expanding work stoppages in the current period, indicating that the unprecedented strikes against the three companies may be close to ending. Its end.
Fine said the coalition made this decision after making significant progress in talks with General Motors on a key goal related to the future of auto companies’ jobs, as the industry shifts from traditional gas-powered cars to a variety of electric vehicles.
GM agreed to cover workers at future electric vehicle battery plants under the National Labor Agreement, which governs GM’s other union members, after Fine threatened to expand the strike to GM’s two plants in Arlington, Texas, that assemble SUVs. For the company.
The agreement is a major achievement in terms of the coalition’s main demand that there be a “just transition” from petrol-powered cars to electric cars, which are seen as a threat to unionized jobs.
Fine said workers have made progress that not only dramatically changes negotiations, but will change the future of the union and the future of the industry.
General Motors did not immediately have any comment on the coalition president’s announcement, although it acknowledged earlier this week a loss of $200 million in the first two weeks of the strike. But she previously insisted that these workers are not General Motors employees, as the factories are run through joint ventures with Asian battery companies.
While workers at GM’s open battery plant are represented by the coalition, they are not part of the National Labor Agreement, and are paid about a third less than members currently earn, even after the union won wage increases earlier this summer.
Auto workers worry that manufacturing electric cars may require less labor, some researchers say.
GM said it does not oppose wage increases at all union-represented battery plants, but it needs to be cost-competitive with workers at other non-union battery plants that have opened or are scheduled to open. These factories generally pay roughly half the salaries of union workers currently on strike.
Although the coalition did not expand the scope of the strike, as it did last Friday, the strike is still in effect in five assembly plants spread between the three companies, in addition to a network of spare parts distribution centers.
Fine took a tough stance in his speech and ambitious negotiating demands. He made his statements today, Friday, while wearing a T-shirt with the phrase “Eat the Rich” written on it, a phrase that conveys a message indicating a desire to redistribute wealth, or a criticism of the accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of a few individuals or companies. He said his comments and demands were dismissed as “theatrics,” but they worked.
“It’s not about the theatrics, it’s about power, the power that you have as a member of the working class,” Fine added. “The workers have shown the three companies that they are not afraid to use their right to strike, and the threat of it, in a united coalition, and it works.”
In addition to the agreement reached with General Motors regarding battery plant workers, Fine said that the two companies are now offering wage increases totaling between 20% at GM and Stellantis and 23% at Ford, during the period Contracts expiring early 2028.
The Auto Workers Alliance began the strike in mid-September, with a targeted stoppage of work by 12,700 members at one assembly plant for each company. A week later, a series of 38 spare parts and distribution centers operated by General Motors and Stellantis were added in 20 states, but no The strike is being expanded at Ford, as it has made significant progress in negotiations.
On September 29, the coalition refused to expand the strike against Stellantis, again citing progress in the talks, but added a strike against one assembly plant at both General Motors and Ford, which made the decision not to expand The strike in any of the companies today, Friday, is a departure from previous practices and a hopeful sign of progress.
The coalition confirmed on more than one occasion that it is ready to expand the strike, with the aim of putting pressure on companies.
2023-10-06 21:31:48
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