The United States automotive workers union expanded, this Friday (22), a strike against two of the country’s three largest automakers and invited President Joe Biden to support workers on the picket lines.
The president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, Shawn Fain, announced a strike at the 38 American distribution and spare parts centers of General Motors and Stellantis, the two automakers with which negotiations are at a standstill.
About 5,600 workers from 20 states joined the strike, according to UAW estimates.
However, the strike was not extended at Ford because, although there are discrepancies on some issues, the company has offered concessions since the strike began a week ago.
“As we’ve been saying for weeks, we’re not going to wait forever to get fair contracts” at the country’s three big automakers, Fain said at an information session.
“We invite and encourage anyone who supports our cause to join us on the picket lines, from friends and family to the President of the United States,” Fain added. “They can help build our movement and show companies that the population supports us.”
This nod from Fain to Biden comes after the American president expressed support for workers’ demands and stated this week, at an event at the UN, that “record corporate profits should be reflected in better contracts for workers.”
Unlike other major unions, the UAW has not yet declared support for Biden for re-election.
– Ford gives ground –
Fain explained that Ford had improved on previous proposals by reinstating a cost-of-living measure that had been suspended in 2009. The company also offered an improved profit-sharing system.
“We’re not done at Ford yet,” added the union president. However, he acknowledged that the automaker “is taking its desire to reach an agreement seriously,” he noted. “At GM and Stellantis it’s a different story,” he added.
In a statement, Ford said it “is working diligently with the UAW to reach an agreement that rewards” its workers and allows the company “to invest in a vibrant future and growth.”
“Although we are making progress in some areas, we still have significant gaps to resolve on crucial economic issues,” the statement said.
GM and Stellantis, for their part, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The UAW’s strategy of gradually expanding its action is part of what Fain called a “stand-up strike” – alluding to the UAW’s historic “sit-down” strike in the 1930s – that aims to maximize the union’s negotiating influence.
The UAW accuses companies of “corporate greed” and criticizes the fact that each of the general directors of the three largest American automakers earns more than 20 million dollars (about R$100 million) per year.
Fain also set aside the UAW’s convention of choosing one of three companies as the target of the strike and instead launched three independent series of talks that caught the automakers off guard.
The UAW is seeking 40 percent pay raises, which would match the average raises received by general managers over the past four years.
Other key demands are the elimination of different salary “levels”, a cost-of-living adjustment and the reinstatement of medical benefits for retirees and a pension for lower-senior employees.
So far, the strike that has lasted a week has had a limited effect on the companies’ profits, as the three plants where the strike began produce medium-sized pickup trucks that are profitable, but do not constitute the largest sources of revenue.
Analysts consider that the UAW should expand the strike even further, to more profitable plants, depending on negotiations.
© Agence France-Presse
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