Unions at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have been negotiating new collective agreements for the next four years since July. According to the analysis, if the strike were to be extended for, say, 10 days, there would be losses of at least $5 billion.
Thousands of workers in three assembly plants General Motors (GM), Ford, Stellantis In the United States, strikes began early Friday morning over the lack of agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.
it is First time ever Three factories, known as the so-called Detroit Big Three, go on strike at the same time.
United Auto Workers (UAW) union president Sean Fein said Thursday at 11 p.m. local time that workers at GM’s assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri, were killed by workers from Stellantis’ Toledo, Ohio, plant. And workers at Ford’s Michigan plant will be the first to go on strike.
The three factories employ approximately 13,500 people.
In a speech broadcast on Facebook Live, Fein announced that workers at the three factories would relinquish their jobs at 12:01 a.m. Friday if the three companies fail to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.
“For the first time in history, all three (companies) are declaring a strike at the same time. “We are adopting a new strategy of selective attack.” Fain declared.
Following Fein’s words, hundreds of union members stood at the entrance gates in Wentzville, Toledo, and Michigan to join strike pickets.
The union and the three companies have been negotiating since July to conclude a new collective bargaining agreement for the next four years. However, the union says the two companies are not negotiating in good faith.
The UAW is demanding a 46% pay increase over four years, the reintroduction of traditional pensions, shorter working hours and the unionization of battery factory workers.
The UAW warned that it would use a strategy of selective strikes at various Big Three factories to put further pressure on companies. The number of factories on strike is likely to increase as negotiations continue.
Fein also did not rule out the possibility that the UAW could declare a simultaneous general strike on the three companies, which would be unprecedented in U.S. history.
The last time the industry experienced a strike occurred in 2019, when the UAW was negotiating to sign a collective bargaining agreement that expired late Thursday night.
GM’s 49,000 employees then went on strike for 40 days, costing the company approximately $3.8 billion (3.569 million euros at today’s exchange rates).
A study released in mid-August showed that a 10-day strike by GM, Ford, and Stellantis employees would cost $5 billion.
