UAW workers overwhelmingly vote to authorize strikes at GM, Ford, Stellantis!

[dfwford]

I don’t think that Strike Fund will last very long.

“ The UAW has more than $825 million in its strike fund, which it uses to pay eligible members who are on strike. The strike pay is $500 per week for each member — up from $275 per week last year.

Assuming 150,000 or so UAW members covered by the contracts, strike pay would cost the union about $75 million per week. A fund of $825 million, then, would cover about 11 weeks. One caveat: that doesn’t include health-care costs that the union would cover, such as temporary COBRA plans, that would likely drain the fund far more quickly.

National or targeted strikes at any of the automakers could be detrimental to business. A 40-day strike against GM during the last round of negotiations in 2019 led to a production loss of 300,000 vehicles, the company said at the time. It also cost the automaker $3.6 billion in earnings, GM said.”

Also, to your point earlier, $500/week isn't a lot for the tier of workers earning the top rate ($32/hr), and this is without overtime.

In effect, their net pay would be cut in half at the very least, which would be painful for those already living paycheck-to-paycheck.

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[dfwford]

This is a formality that happens in any type of contract talks. There'd be no teeth to their demands if their members didn't also intend to back it up with a strike.

The contract ends Sept 14 at midnight. There's no guarantee they'll strike when it ends. There's no guarantee they'll strike at Ford, there's no guarantee that they'll strike at Flat Rock. There's also the possibility of them ironing out a deal before then. A lot of what you see right now is show. Everyone shoots for the moon in a contract negotiation, and their going public with it is just to drum up support and try to get each side to cave in to public pressure.

They went on strike in 2019, but they targeted just a single manufacturer (GM). It lasted 3 months. They could again target just a single manufacturer, a segment, the parts suppliers that disrupt everything - nobody knows what strategy they will take if they do strike.

The problem is the rising costs to the cars are driving Ford, GM, and Stellantis upmarket and some of their upmarket competition does not deal with the labor costs or unions that the Big 3 do.

The GM strike only last 40 days, not 3 months...

 

[Q6543]

A temporary extension of 30 days is the far more likely outcome.

they’ll say they are close enough but don’t want to walk away from the table.

strike talk is pure rhetoric, and I am UAW fwiw.

 

[timd38]

If they demand too much, the automakers will continue to move new products to lower cost options, such as Mexico.

 

[The Wizard]

UAW has $900,000,000 in their strike fund. They said they will stipend each line member $500/week till the strike is over.

I'd say that is less than half of what the average line worker makes weekly.

While I hate to see grinding stops to the auto industry, I am with the workers that have to make a living. I am not so much in line with believing the union uppers have the worker's best interests in mind though.

Members will always vote strike to show strength. The auto makers are brutal and would crush the worker if not for the UAW.

Ever want an interesting read or watch, check out the name Harry Bennett and Ford. Said was an enforcer for Henry Ford before unions were made. Bennett was head of Ford's "Security". He was a mobster, and I'll let you google the rest. Look up his "cabin" in Clair, MI. It was a fortress, with BP glass, gun turrets, hidden rooms and all made from thick concrete. Been there many times. It's insane.

I can't find a Bennett cabin in Clair, MI using Google.
Please provide a link...

 

[adamhixx]

My car is built, waiting to ship. Would the strike affect shipment?

 

[The Wizard]

My car is built, waiting to ship. Would the strike affect shipment?

Definitely.
Teamsters will honor the UAW picket line...

 

[5.0ALM]

 

[LETHAL]

I can't find a Bennett cabin in Clair, MI using Google.
Please provide a link...

https://www.retrokimmer.com/2010/09/harry-bennetts-lodge.html

 

[A10devil]

We'll build your car cheaper, Señor!

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