Thousands of members of the United Auto Workers union could walk off the job this weekend as their contract with General Motors is set to expire at midnight on September 14th.
The talks between the two groups started on July 16th and have been ongoing. Of course, a lot of important developments have happened since then including the UAW selecting GM as their so-called ‘strike target.’
That doesn’t necessarily mean members will strike, but the union will use their contract agreement with GM as a blueprint for contract talks with Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Contacts with both those automakers were also set to expire at midnight on September 14th, but The Detroit Bureau reports the union has temporarily extended the deadline.
If that wasn’t enough pressure, UAW members voted overwhelming to authorize a strike against all three automakers. 96.4% of members authorized a strike against GM, while FCA and Ford weren’t far behind at 96% and 95.98%.
At the time, UAW President Gary Jones said “No one goes into collective bargaining taking a strike lightly. But it is a key tool in the tool belt as our bargaining team sits across from the company.” Jones went to say the union supported GM during their bailout and “now that they are profitable, it is time for them to stand up for all of us.”
If that statement didn’t clue you into the animosity between GM and the UAW, we’ll give you a brief refresher. The union is upset that GM “unallocated” four different plants in the United States including Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly and Warren Transmission Operations in Michigan as well as Lordstown Assembly in Ohio and Baltimore Operations in Maryland. These plants employed over 3,300 hourly employees and the UAW contends they were shut down in breach of their current contract with GM.
While the UAW hasn’t been as vocal as Canada’s Unifor union – which protested the decision to close the Oshawa Assembly Plant – they haven’t been quiet either. In particular, the UAW took advantage of the media attention around the North American International Auto Show to protest GM.
There’s been conflicting reports on how the talks with GM have been going, but it appears the union is gearing up for a potential strike. The Detroit Free Press says several union sources have told them, “UAW local unit leaders for GM’s plants around the country scheduled membership meetings” to explain the protocol if a strike is called. At least one person also told the paper that they were told to get picket signs.
