United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fine and members and workers at the Mopar Parts Line Center, a Stellantis parts distribution center in Center Line, Michigan, picket outside the facility after walking off their jobs at noon on Sept. 22, 2023.
Matthew Hatcher | AFP | Getty Images
DETROIT — A year after unprecedented strikes by the United Auto Workers union against Detroit automakers, the union is again threatening a work stoppage that could disrupt the U.S. auto industry.
The United Auto Workers union announced Wednesday the strike deadline for Ford Motor Company The tool and die plant that supports the automaker's Rouge complex near Detroit — one of two U.S. plants that produce the company's highly profitable F-150 pickup truck.
The strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 25 came a day after United Auto Workers Union President Sean Finn announced plans to hold strike authorization votes in one or more local unions covering Stellantis Plants in the United States
Both announcements are warnings against Ford and Stellantis and focus on union contracts and local issues at plants. The union has not announced similar actions against General Motors.
Members of the United Auto Workers union are subject to national agreements, covering issues such as wages, bonuses and other benefits, as well as local contracts tailored to each facility.
In the past, local contracts took months, if not years, to settle after a national agreement was reached. Sometimes they were not settled at all during the term of the national agreement.
Last year, autoworkers went on strike during historic national contract negotiations with all three Detroit automakers simultaneously. The union won record wage increases — 25 percent over the life of the deal — and the reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments, but labor experts said it could come at the cost of jobs.
The latest Ford strike was called over local negotiations at the plant that included “job security, equal pay for skilled workers, and work rules,” according to the union.
A strike at a support facility for an assembly plant could affect vehicle assembly if the automaker can't make contingency plans for parts. The plant employs fewer than 500 workers.
Ford said in a statement Thursday that negotiations with the union are ongoing: “Ford invested $15 million in the plant last year, and we have been at the negotiating table to resolve the issues. Negotiations are ongoing and we look forward to reaching an agreement with the Dearborn Tool & Die Local 600.”
The strike deadline raises tensions there even further than they did at Stellantis, where the union has announced a strike vote. A strike vote is procedural. It’s a vote by workers to authorize UAW leaders to call a strike, if necessary. Such votes in national contract negotiations typically pass with more than 90 percent worker approval.
The announced vote at Stellantis comes after months of mud-slinging by Finn against Stellantis and its CEO, Carlos Tavares, following product cuts, layoffs and other actions the union has deemed harmful to union workers, including the possibility of moving production of vehicles like the Dodge Durango outside the United States.
The union on Monday filed unfair labor practices charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Stellantis, saying the automaker has refused to “provide the union with relevant information” regarding investments and products.
“The company wants to scare you, but we have 100 percent the right and authority to strike if necessary,” Fine said during a live broadcast Tuesday.
Stellantis claimed that such strikes would be illegal.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares speaks to the media on June 13, 2024 following the company's investor day at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Michael Wayland/CNBC
Fine has insisted that the union won the right to strike because of the automakers’ commitments on products and investments during national negotiations. However, there is still language in the contracts about market conditions, the economy and other factors that could give the company some leniency.
Stellantis on Tuesday evening criticized the union leader for his actions and comments after he announced the strike mandate vote.
“Sean Fine continues to claim that the company breached the contract, but has yet to provide any data or information to support his claims,” Stellantis said in an emailed statement. “Instead, he continues to deliberately damage the company’s reputation with his public attacks that benefit no one, including his members.”
Stellantis said the strike “does not benefit anyone – our customers, our merchants, the community and, most importantly, our employees.”
In addition to the National Labor Relations Board complaint against the company on Monday, Fine said 28 Stellantis residents have filed complaints against the automaker. Those complaints cover about 98% of the Stellantis UAW workforce, according to the union.
“Once we authorize a strike at a local location, we meet with the company seven times and either resolve the issue or take strike action as our union sees fit,” Fine said.
As of the beginning of this year, Stellantis employed approximately 43,000 union-represented workers.
The union also began contract negotiations with Volkswagen this week. Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted overwhelmingly to represent the UAW earlier this year.
