The UAW strike continues to drag on, but the union decided not to ratchet up the pressure this week.
Speaking on social media, UAW President Shawn Fain said they were “about to shut down GM’s largest money maker in Arlington, Texas.” This seems to be a reference to Arlington Assembly, which employs 5,322 people and builds the popular Cadillac Escalade and Escalade-V, Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, and GMC Yukon / Yukon XL.
Fain claimed GM “knew those members were ready to walk immediately” and “that threat provided a transformative win” as the automaker has agreed to put their battery manufacturing work under the UAW’s national master agreement. As a result, US-made batteries will apparently be built by union labor.
More: UAW Strike Expands To Hit Popular Ford And GM SUVs, Ford CEO Calls Move ‘Grossly Irresponsible’
In a long-winded speech, Fain said “Our first wage proposal from the companies was a 9% raise from Ford. Now, three weeks into the strike, our top offer is 23% from the same company.” He added that “Both GM and Stellantis are behind Ford, at 20%,” but “we think they can catch up and then some.”
He went on to say Ford and Stellantis have agreed to reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, while temps are slated to receive at least $20 per hour. Fain also claimed the strike isn’t for “theatrics,” despite embarrassing messages indicating officials wanted to cause “operational chaos” and keep automakers “wounded for months.”
The Big Three didn’t have much to say about the latest developments, but GM released a short statement noting “Negotiations remain ongoing, and we will continue to work toward finding solutions to address outstanding issues. Our goal remains to reach an agreement that rewards our employees and allows GM to be successful into the future.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Stellantis, which said “We continue to have good momentum at the bargaining table and have been working diligently with the UAW over the last week to build on that. We are making progress, but there are gaps that still need to be closed.”
The automaker also noted their latest proposal includes an immediate 10% wage increase for most employees upon contract ratification as well as “significant wage increases of 21.4% when compounded through 2027 for all full-time hourly employees.” The company added the proposal includes an additional $1 billion in retirement funding as well as a commitment to “invest billions in the U.S. to provide job security.”
