In the USA, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis workers are on strike. After negotiations on higher wages and improved working conditions broke down on Friday night, the United Auto Workers (UAW) started to strike the first plants of the “Big Three”.
UAW leader Shawn Fain does not rule out nationwide strikes by the union’s nearly 150,000 members. In the factories of foreign manufacturers, hardly any employees are members of the UAW. Tesla’s factories are not unionised either.
According to Reuters, the plants affected by the strike so far are GM’s Wentzville (Missouri) plant, Ford’s Wahne (Michigan) assembly plant and Stellantis’ Toledo assembly plant in Ohio. These plants produce the Chevrolet Colorado, Express, GMC Canyon and Savanna (all GM), the Ford Ranger and Bronco (both Ford) and the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator (both Stellantis). More than 12,000 UAW union members work at the three factories.
According to a union statement, only “limited and targeted” work stoppages are planned at the three major Detroit car companies. This is the first time that the UAW has called for strikes at all three companies simultaneously. The German business paper quotes a US car manager as saying that he initially expects strikes at transmission plants or production facilities that manufacture electric motors.
Among other things, the UAW is pushing for those workers who make batteries and other e-components, for example, to also benefit from better wages and labour standards. As Handelsblatt points out, US President Joe Biden had unsuccessfully lobbied Congress to allow auto giants to benefit from incentives only if they raise wages and improve working conditions. “The UAW’s strike is now intended to force the corporations to do so retroactively,” the article says.