The UAW announced its second “surprise” strike Monday as the costs to the economy mount from the the union’s progressive “stand up” strikes now in their sixth week.
The strikes, which began with one assembly plant at each of the Detroit Three automakers on Sept. 15, have now expanded to all 38 parts and distribution centers at General Motors Co. and Stellantis, Ford Motor Co.’s Kentucky Assembly Plant in Louisville and on Monday UAW workers walked off their jobs at the Stellantis Sterling Heights, Mich. Assembly Plant, the company’s biggest and most profitable.
Through the first five weeks of the walkouts, which ended midnight Oct. 19, the cost to the auto industry surpassed $9.3 billion, according to an analysis by E. Lansing, Mich. boutique economic consultants, Anderson Economic Group.
“The cost of this strike is now double that of the 2019 UAW strike against General Motors, with significant layoffs among supplier firms. Lost wages of striking workers and those laid off because of the strike are nearing a half billion dollars,” said Patrick Anderson, AEG principal and CEO in a statement.
Included in the losses reported in AEG’s analysis are:
- Lost wages to workers, including striking workers and others temporarily laid off or forced to decrease work hours.
- Lost earnings for the Detroit Three auto manufacturers
- Supplier losses caused by delays or cancellations of orders for parts and services among tier one, two and three suppliers
- Dealer, customer, and other auto industry losses. AEG estimates losses to automotive dealers, repair shops and customers from “foregone repairs, and indefinite delays in new vehicles.”
When the strikes began UAW president Shawn Fain followed a predictable pattern of announcing which plants would be hit during live webcasts held on Fridays.
But on Oct. 11, a Wednesday, Fain broke that pattern by calling a surprise walkout at Ford’s Kentucky Assembly Plant when the automaker said it had nothing new to offer.
When Fain conducted a live webcast last Friday he didn’t announce any new walkouts but he ran down issues the union still had with offers from all three companies and called out Stellantis on several points.
“Stellantis has has its issues as well. They’re still at a four year progression. They’re still at just $20 for temp workers. They’ve rejected all increases to retiree pay. I know plenty of members at Sterling Heights assembly plant and Kokomo, Indiana, who aren’t gonna like that,” Fain said.
Without warning on Monday morning, the union’s 6,800 workers walked off their jobs at Sterling Heights Assembly, also known as SHAP. The plant in suburban Detroit produced the highly profitable and popular Ram 1500 pickup truck.
“Currently, Stellantis has the worst proposal on the table regarding wage progression, temporary worker pay and conversion to full-time, cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), and more,” the UAW said in a statement on its website.
The automaker responded with an angry statement, saying in part,” We are outraged that the UAW has chosen to expand its strike action against Stellantis. Last Thursday morning, Stellantis presented a new, improved offer to the UAW, including 23% wage increases over the life of the contract, nearly a 50% increase in our contributions to the retirement savings plan, and additional job security protections for our employees. Following multiple conversations that appeared to be productive, we left the bargaining table expecting a counter-proposal, but have been waiting for one ever since.”
It went on to criticize Fain’s stated intention to “wound” the automakers saying, “The UAW’s continued disturbing strategy of “wounding” all the Detroit 3 will have long-lasting consequences. With every decision to strike, the UAW sacrifices domestic market share to non-union competition. These actions not only decrease our market share, but also impact our profitability and therefore, our ability to compete, invest and preserve the record profit sharing payments our employees have enjoyed over the past two years.”
With no tentative settlements apparently in sight, midnight Thursday will mark six weeks since the UAW began its walkouts as the number of workers off their jobs exceeds 40,000 and the costs to the industry rise as well.
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