New United Auto Workers President Shaw Fain appears ready to make good on his vow that the labor union will be more aggressive in its upcoming contract negotiations with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, telling members Friday they must be prepared to strike.
In a Facebook live video posted to the union’s page, Fain said the UAW is in a strong position to make significant gains in talks with Detroit’s big three automakers, “but only if our members get organized and are ready to strike.”
“If the big three don’t do what’s right by our members, then we’re going to do what we have to do, and we’re going to do it together,” he said, adding later that the union is “going to use every tool in the toolbox to deliver for our membership.”
Fain defeated former UAW President Ray Curry earlier this year after running on a campaign promising a more proactive approach than previous leadership, telling FOX Business ahead of the outcome that the union’s members “have had enough with concessions and company-friendly leadership.”
During his social media address, Fain repeated the union’s goals of winning back cost-of-living pay raises and pensions lost as the industry faced financial peril in 2009. They also want general pay raises and elimination of tiers of workers who are paid different wages. The union also wants to represent workers at joint-venture electric vehicle battery plants and get them top wages.
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The UAW president blasted the car companies for what he called “corporate greed,” saying the big three have made “extreme profits” over the past decade while their workers struggle to get by, and “now it’s time to set things right.”
Contracts with the three automakers, which together employ about 150,000 autoworkers, expire Sept. 14. Negotiations are to start sometime in mid-July, but no specific dates have been released.
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GM and Ford declined comment on the statements when reached by The Associated Press, and a message was left seeking comment from Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.