Posts tagged two tier
UAW widens strike against GM and Stellantis but not Ford
September 24, 2023 // GM called the strike escalation “unnecessary” and accused union leaders of “manipulating the bargaining process for their own personal agendas.” “We have now presented five separate economic proposals that are historic,” the company said. The 20 percent raise in its latest offer would boost 85 percent of GM’s UAW workforce to base-wage earnings of $82,000 a year by the end of the contract, the company said this week. It is also offering two weeks of paid parental leave and other perks. Stellantis said it submitted a new offer to the UAW on Thursday but has not received a reply. It said its 20 percent wage increase offer would boost all its full-time UAW workers to earnings of $80,000 to $96,000 annually by the end of the contract. The company questioned “whether the union’s leadership has ever had an interest in reaching an agreement in a timely manner.”
‘I want to work’: UAW members face financial turmoil amid strike, share frustrations
September 22, 2023 // "This doesn't just affect me," Mitchell said. "This plant runs the city. This is affecting other people because now our suppliers are out of work. And the way they said it works in Ohio is, if you are laid off because of a strike you can't get unemployment." Desia Clement, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, confirmed that workers involved in a labor dispute such as a strike may not be eligible for unemployment benefits, but noted that every claim is unique and decided on a case-by-case basis.
Jeep maker Stellantis makes a new contract offer as auto workers prepare to expand their strike
September 21, 2023 // GM said that the UAW strike at its assembly plant near St. Louis caused it to idle a plant in Kansas with about 2,000 workers because “there is no work available” — the plant depends on parts stamped in the St. Louis-area facility. GM said it does not expect to restart the Kansas plant until the strike ends, and it won’t provide supplemental pay to the workers. The company said the layoffs demonstrated “that nobody wins in a strike.” Stellantis, which makes Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge vehicles, said it expects to lay off more than 300 workers in Ohio and Indiana because “storage constraints” caused by the UAW strike at its assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio.
Is Gen Z the reason behind growing support for unions?
September 21, 2023 // Austin Johnson, 21, works at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. He has a long family history with Ford. His mom works at the plant and his grandfather and great-grandfather worked for Ford. Johnson, who was worked for Ford for two years, walked out last week after contract negotiations failed and his union local was called to strike. "I am a tier two employee. I want to get rid of tiers and completely cancel that, and that's why I am here and striking for," he said.
What plants could be targeted next for a strike by the UAW?
September 20, 2023 // David Zoia, an auto expert with Ward's Automotive, believes the next group of plants could include where mid-size SUVs are made. "The GM plant in Lansing where they make the Traverse and Cadillacs, Ford Chicago where they make the Explorer and possibly the Jefferson Assembly in Detroit where they make the Grand Cherokee," Zoia said.
Opinion: Bernie Sanders to Big 3 CEOs: “It is time for you to end your greed.”
September 19, 2023 // Bernie Sanders: "the average American worker is worse off today than he or she was 50 years ago."
UAW locals get marching orders for strike against Big Three
September 14, 2023 // At 10 p.m. on Thursday, UAW President Shawn Fain announced three locals were selected to start the strike at midnight. Those locals represent Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio and General Motors Wentzville Assembly Center in Missouri. For the first time in union history all three companies came to the UAW’s Solidarity House downtown Detroit, Fain said. All three automakers have made multiple counteroffers but none of been accepted. Fain says the companies were slow to come to the table at the beginning of negotiations.
UAW workers could begin striking this week. Here’s what we know about negotiations.
September 12, 2023 //
Biden’s Union Problems Are a Gift to Trump
September 8, 2023 // Former President Donald Trump, who won Michigan by just under 11,000 votes in one of the biggest political upsets of the 2016 election, weighed in on the possibility of a strike over the Labor Day weekend, referring to Fain as a "respected" union head and vowing to stop the "madness" of electric vehicles. A labor action from UAW is likely to open up an opportunity for Trump to seize one of Michigan's most critical counties. Recent polls show that Biden is in a statistical dead heat against Trump. The Democrat is leading by just one percentage point, according to RealClearPolitics' polling averages. "Fain is in no hurry to endorse President Biden when a significant number of UAW members supported former President Trump in previous elections," Arthur Wheaton, the director of Labor Studies at Cornell University, told Newsweek. "Why risk fractures in union solidarity during a crucial bargaining period. No upside to endorsing now and plenty of potential downside in an extremely difficult bargaining time at the Detroit Three." Political consultant Jay Towsend said that while a UAW strike would be unlikely to damage Biden's image as a union supporter, the economic impact and turmoil that a labor action could cause would give his re-election campaign "a headache it does not need, especially in rust-belt states he must win."
UAW’s Shawn Fain calls GM’s contract counteroffer ‘insulting’: What’s in it
September 8, 2023 // GM presented the counteroffer around 10 a.m. Thursday to UAW leaders. It comes just days after the UAW filed unfair labor practice charges against GM and Stellantis. The National Labor Relations Board is investigating those charges now and the outcome could impact a potential strike. "After refusing to bargain in good faith for the past six weeks, only after having federal labor board charges filed against them, GM has come to the table with an insulting proposal that doesn’t come close to an equitable agreement for America’s autoworkers," Fain said in a statement to the Free Press. In a letter to the employees midmorning, which GM provided to the Detroit Free Press, GM wrote, "Our offer includes well-deserved wage improvements that far exceed the 2019 agreement and reward you for your hard work. We still have work to do, but we wanted to make this offer to show our good faith efforts to keep the process moving." For all hourly employees, GM said it will recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday, giving a new total of 16 to 18 paid holidays per year. Ford declined to recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday, Fain has said. GM hourly employees would also receive a $5,500 bonus for ratifying the contract, which matches Ford's offer.