- Employees of the three major car manufacturers Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have been on strike in the USA for several days.
- The reasons are failed wage negotiations.
According to United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain, talks between the union and the automakers have made slow progress since then – there has been little progress. Fain also suggested that the strike would be extended if automakers did not make better offers.
“If we don’t get any better offers (…) we will strengthen the whole thing even further,” said the union president on Sunday on the TV station CBS. “We are ready to do whatever we have to do.” The union members are “fed up”.
The union members are fed up.
The employees of the “Big Three” – General Motors, Ford and Stellantis with the Chrysler brand – stopped work in several plants at the same time for the first time on Friday night.
In view of the car manufacturers’ profits, the UAW is demanding significant wage increases – a demand that US President Joe Biden also supports.
Legend:
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders is also committed to the union fight.
Keystone/Paul Sancya
According to the union, 12,700 of the 150,000 employees represented by the UAW are currently taking part in the strike. Affected are a General Motors plant in Wentzville (Missouri), a Stellantis plant in Toledo (Ohio) and a Ford factory in Wayne (Michigan).
The UAW is demanding salary increases of about 40 percent over four years. According to them, this corresponds to the increase in income of top managers.
Many workers also point to the meager wages and benefit cuts they endured after the 2008 financial crisis, when General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection.
Legend:
The striking employees are demanding a wage increase of 40 percent.
Keystone/Paul Sancya
In recent years, the “Big Three” have again generated high profits. According to the union boss, employers have not yet gone beyond 20 percent in their offer. Negotiations are also not making progress with other demands such as additional vacation days.