UAW President Shawn Fain trashes new Ford, GM, Stellantis contract proposals

Phoebe Wall Howard, Detroit Free Press
Fri, September 8, 2023 

UAW President Shawn Fain took to Facebook Live on Friday night to tell autoworkers that contract counterproposals from the Detroit Three automakers were in the trash where they belong, gesturing to a bin behind him labeled "Big Three Proposals."

"It's disgusting," Fain said, claiming that retirees have been left completely in the cold by the latest offers.

The UAW wants a "significant increase" for retirees, Fain said, but Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis have rejected all increases to retiree compensation.

He lined up written proposals on topics including wages, cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), job security, profit sharing, work-life balance and retiree benefits — and tore them to pieces as more than 11,000 viewers watched on camera, according to the viewer total appearing in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

When it comes to wages, the UAW wants them to keep up with inflation. Meanwhile, Ford wants to use a "severely deficient" COLA formula that would have provided 0% increases for 10 of the past 13 years and would be projected to add $0 in raises over the next four years, Fain said.

"That's not cola. That's not even diet cola. That's Coke Zero," he said.

Neither GM nor Stellantis offered COLA and instead proposed lump-sum payments that exclude some workers.

UAW President Shawn Fain hosted a Facebook live meeting on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 to update members on counterproposals from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

"We have a lot of work to do," Fain said. "We don't just fight for ourselves. We fight for the entire working class."

And, he promised, "We're going to fight like hell."

Fain posted charts comparing the latest company positions on key labor issues:
Wages

The UAW wants double-digit pay raises to counter salary increases of the Detroit Three CEOs, catch up with inflation and make up for decades of falling wages.


Ford and GM want a "shameful and insulting pay offer," as Fain called it, with a 10% increase over four years "that doesn't even make up for past raises wiped out by inflation. Lump sum bonuses that many employees won't receive."


Stellantis made a "deeply inadequate pay offer," he said, that provides general wage increases every year for a total of 14.5% over the four-year contract but still falls far short of making up for past inflation and doesn't safeguard against future inflation.
Profit sharing

The UAW wants workers to get $2 for every $1 million spent on share buybacks, special dividends and increases to normal dividends.


Ford wants a profit-sharing formula that would have resulted in 21% smaller checks over the last two years.


GM wants a profit-sharing formula that would have resulted in a 29% smaller check last year.


Stellantis rejected the profit-sharing proposal.
Temp workers

UAW wants to convert temporary workers to full-time after 90 days, provide full benefits and profit sharing.


Ford, GM and Stellantis offered "no path to full-time with meager wage increases to $20/hour."


Fords spokeswoman Jessica Enoch challenged the claims made by Fain, telling the Detroit Free Press, "Temporary workers represent only 3% of our hourly workforce at Ford, and they have a clear career path: Since the 2019 contract, temporary full-time employees are converted to permanent full-time employee status upon the completion of two years’ continuous service. We have converted more than 14,100 temporary employees to permanent status since 2019, including about 3,000 temporary employees that we converted to permanent last summer.”
Job security

UAW wants the right to strike over plant closures.


Ford wants the "unilateral right to outsource any" work "at any time."


GM and Stellantis rejected all job security proposals.
Work-life balance

UAW wants more paid time off and holidays.


Ford rejected nearly all proposals including recognizing Juneteenth as a paid holiday. It did include a "meager" two weeks of paid parental leave, Fain said.


GM and Stellantis offered only to recognize Juneteenth.
Employee tiers

UAW wants a 90-day progression for workers to reach a top pay rate, restoring pensions and retiree health care.


Ford wants a five-year progression while GM and Stellantis want six-year progression.


All three rejected all pension and retiree health care proposals.

"There it is. That's what they say about you behind closed doors," Fain said. "We aren't going to take whatever scraps they give us."

The UAW posted a comparison list of benefits offered by the Detroit Three in their latest contract proposals during a Facebook live event run by UAW President Shawn Fain on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

His member update, which began at about 5:25 p.m., is part of a transparency campaign that has transformed the 2023 contract talks with real-time updates on negotiations. The current contract, approved in 2019 and covering an estimated 150,000 hourly autoworkers, expires at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

Ford, GM and Stellantis are negotiating deals simultaneously this year.

Fain has said workers should be able to afford the vehicles they build. He added that while "the cost of a strike might be high, the cost of doing nothing is much higher."

Ford: Scab accusation

During his remarks on Facebook, Fain accused Ford of taking out loans and arranging for "scabs" to do the jobs of union employees as strike preparation. Ford has acknowledged arranging to keep some of its parts depots running with salaried workers, as first reported by the Detroit Free Press.

In response to Fain's strike prep claims about Ford on Friday, Enoch said in a statement, "Our focus is on reaching a deal that rewards our employees, allows for the continuation of Ford’s unique position as the most American automaker and enables Ford to invest and grow. We are developing responsible contingency plans in the case of a work stoppage. When it comes to our parts depots, we have a responsibility to our customers and dealers to ship the parts that keep Ford vehicles on the road — especially to keep first responders and other essential services running. Safety and customer service are top priorities for us.”

Stellantis: "Continuing discussion"

Stellantis provided a statement late Friday that said the company and the UAW bargaining team discussions "continue to be constructive and collaborative."

The company that builds Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler, said, "Our focus continues to be on bargaining in good faith to reach a new agreement that balances the concerns of our 43,000 employees with our vision for the future – one that better positions the business to meet the challenges of the U.S. marketplace and secures the future for all of our employees, their families and our company. We will not be distracted from this important work."

Stellantis said, "We look forward to continuing our discussion with the UAW and remain committed to reaching a fair agreement by the deadline.”

GM: "Work to do"

GM reiterated on Friday a statement released a day ago: "Our offer has been developed considering everything in our environment including competitor offers and what is important to our team members. It includes well-deserved wage improvements that far exceed the 2019 agreement. We still have work to do, but we will continue to bargain in good faith with the UAW and work towards an outcome that recognizes the vital role of our team members in GM’s success.”

As the Motor City works to avoid a strike, Fain said unions including the AFL-CIO have reached out to the UAW to voice support and solidarity.