Tuesday, November 14, 2023

UAW president vows aggressive auto plant organizing -Senate testimony

Mon, November 13, 2023 

UAW union members in Belvidere, Illinois

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain will tell a Senate Committee on Tuesday the union plans to aggressively organize non-union U.S. auto plants after winning new contracts with the Detroit Three automakers.

"For decades, non-union auto companies have used fear, uncertainty, and division to break union drives in our industry," Fain will tell the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, according to written testimony seen by Reuters. "I’m here to promise you that those days are over.... We are going to organize like we’ve never organized before."

The UAW for decades has unsuccessfully sought to organize auto factories operated by foreign automakers.

Hyundai Motor said on Monday it will hike wages for nonunion U.S. production workers by 25% by 2028, weeks after the UAW won new contracts with General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis.

The Korean automaker joins Toyota Motor and Honda Motor in raising U.S. factory wages after the UAW won a new contract that will result in wage increases of 25% through 2028 and other benefits.

"We know these non-union companies are doing this because they’re scared," Fain's testimony says. "They’re scared that their workers will see that a better life is possible once they organize into a union. And these companies are trying to head that off."

The hearing will also include testimony from Teamsters President Sean O'Brien and Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson.

Nelson's testimony also cited Honda's wage hikes.

"If non-union firms want to attract and retain qualified workers, they must compete with the unionized workers’ pay, benefits and working conditions," her testimony says. "The more of us who are unionized, the more pressure all employers face."

When U.S. President Joe Biden visited Illinois last week, he said he backed the UAW's efforts to unionize Tesla and Toyota, adding that all U.S. auto workers deserve a deal similar to the UAW's recent agreements with the Detroit Three.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, editing by Deepa Babington)

Workers at Ford plant in Kentucky split over UAW deal

Olafimihan Oshin
The Hill 
Mon, November 13, 2023 


Productions workers at Ford-based plants in Kentucky have voted against the United Auto Workers’s (UAW) tentative agreement with the Big Three automakers.

In a Facebook post Sunday, UAW Local 862 shared that production workers who are chapter members voted down on the tentative agreement by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent.

In contrast, skilled trade workers who are members of the local chapter voted in favor of the proposed deal by a margin of 69 percent to 31 percent.

Members of UAW Local 862 work at the Louisville Assembly Plant and the Kentucky Truck Plant, all owned by Ford Motor Co., according to ABC News. The two plants employ more than 13,000 people, with 12,000 of them belonging to the union.

The decision comes days after the UAW, led by President Shawn Fain, reached tentative agreements with automakers including Ford, Jeep-maker Stellantis and General Motors, ending the union’s six-week strike against the major automakers.

UAW’s strike against the Big Three, the longest auto strike in 25 years, saw the auto union demand for cost-of-living pay raises, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, union representation at new battery plants, pension increases for retirees and more.

The tentative agreements with each automaker also include 25 percent wage increases over the course of a four-year contract, among other benefits

Fain is slated to make an appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, where he’ll be one of several speakers at a hearing on union benefits for families, held by the Democratic-led Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The Hill has reached out to Ford and UAW Local 862 for comment and more information.

The UAW’s deal to end the auto strike could be in trouble

Chris Isidore, CNN
Tue, November 14, 2023

A growing number of rank-and-file autoworkers are voting against the deals with General Motors and Ford, despite pay increases that could come to 30% or more during the life of the contract.

The latest major setback for the deals came among Ford workers in Louisville, Kentucky, home to the company’s largest and most lucrative factories, and a GM truck factory in Flint, Michigan, a city known as the birthplace of the union.

The Ford vote in Kentucky showed 55% of the members at the Kentucky Truck plant voting against the deal. That plant went on strike with little notice on October 12, about three weeks into the strike that targeted specific plants at the company. Members at Ford’s nearby Louisville Assembly plant who belong to the same union local voted 53% in favor of the deal.

While the ratification vote at both companies still has the support of the majority of members, neither vote is large enough at this point to assure passage, especially with some large union locals yet to weigh in. A vote tracker on the UAW site shows that 65% of members at Ford who have voted so far approve of the deal. But that’s down from the more than 70% who had voted yes heading into the weekend. The GM vote is much closer with only 57% voting to ratify so far, and three other locations joining the Flint Truck plant in voting no.

A “no” vote at either company could lead to a resumption of the strike, perhaps with little notice. But it wouldn’t be unique, as there have been several instances in which the rank-and-file have voted against deals negotiated by their union and endorsed by its leadership.

The UAW members at Mack Truck voted down a tentative agreement with that heavy truck maker on October 8, and have been on strike ever since, although they are in the process of voting on a slightly different version of that rejected deal once again.

UAW President Shawn Fain has told members repeatedly that these are record contracts and wins for the members, and that the union negotiators won every last dime the companies had to offer. But he also has said the final decision on what to do is up to the rank-and-file.

While the deals give an immediate 11% pay raise to members, guaranteed wage increases totaling another 14% over the next four years and a cost-of-living adjustment that could bring wages up to more than 30% when combined with the guaranteed wages, it did not meet all of the union’s negotiating demands at the start of talks.

The union began demanding an immediate 20% raise and raises totaling 40% during the life of the contract. And it wanted a return of traditional pension plans for workers hired after 2007, who have only a 401(K) plan for their retirement, and health care coverage for retirees and their families.

When Fain and other union officials were spelling out the deals reached with the three companies on Facebook Live, comments that appeared on the feed showed many members urging other members to vote no on the deals.

Some members voicing complaints online argued that the deal didn’t do enough to help the more senior employees who had been with the companies since before 2007. Others complained about the lack of health care coverage for retirees, especially since many members retire from production jobs before they’re eligible for Medicare. And some just urged members to vote no without giving a reason.

Results are due in at other Ford locals by the the end of the this week, including the large local that represents numerous plants in the same complex in Dearborn Michigan. The votes at GM and Stellantis are likely to stretch into next week.

So far the vote at Stellantis has overwhelming support, with 82% of the members who have voted supporting the deal. So far, the only unit of the union at Stellantis to vote no is the one that represents about 300 workers at a parts distribution center in Marysville, Michigan, about an hour north of Detroit.

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