He United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced this Monday that 6,800 workers at the assembly plant that Stellantis owns in Michigan join the strike that they are maintaining in 44 other workplaces of this same company, General Motors (GM) and ford since last September 15.
The strikes, which already involve more than 40,000 UAW members in the first simultaneous strike by the three big U.S. automakers, will now involve those responsible for assembling Stellantis’ best-selling pickup truck, the RAM-500 model. UAW detailed in a statement.
According to the union, Stellantis has the “higher revenues and profit margins”but it is still “behind Ford and General Motors” in the demands of its workers about “salary increase, remuneration of temporary workers and conversion to full time.”
The move comes just days after UAW President Shawn Fain detailed the automakers’ current proposals, highlighting shortcomings in Stellantis’ offering.
The union leader then criticized the speech given Monday by Ford CEO Bill Ford, in which the great-grandson of the company’s founder warned that the UAW demands could lead to plant closures and threaten the automaker’s survival.
“(Bill Ford) Said that if workers get their share of economic justice he will have to close plants like Rouge (Ford’s electric vehicle production center),” Fain stated.
Fain acknowledged that the three companies have made proposals that improve economic and working conditions to levels never before achieved, but added that the reason is that “The bar was very low” and that companies still have money to continue improving their offers.
The strike began on September 15 with a walkout at three assembly plants in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. It has since expanded to seven assembly plants and 38 parts distribution centers in 22 states.
On October 11, the UAW began a new phase of the strike by launching surprise walkouts against the Ford truck plant in Kentucky, where 8,700 UAW members walked off the job without notice.
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
