DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – The United Auto Workers Union President Shawn Fain recently announced charges against two of the Big Three Detroit Automakers showing greater likelihood of a strike for mid-September. 

“GM and Stellantis’ willful refusal to bargain in good faith is not only insulting and counterproductive, it’s also illegal,” Fain said. “That’s why today our union filed unfair labor practice charges, or ULPs, against both GM and Stellantis with the National Labor Relations Board.”

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The charges come after the UAW has been advocating for many contract improvements. 

“The union’s demands include the elimination of tiered wages and benefits, wage increases to offset inflation and match the generous salary increases of company executives over the last four years, the re-establishment of cost-of-living allowances and defined benefit pensions and retiree healthcare, the right to strike over plant closures, significant increases to current retiree benefits, and more paid time off to be with family,” according to UAW officials. 

The two automakers expressed their shock at Fain’s claims regarding the negotiations. 

Stellantis spokesperson Jodi Tinson said in a statement the company had not received the filing, but “is shocked by Mr. Fain’s claims that we have not bargained in good faith. … This is a claim with no basis in fact, and we are disappointed to learn that Mr. Fain is more focused on filing frivolous legal charges than on actual bargaining. We will vigorously defend this charge when the time comes, but right now we are more focused on continuing to bargain in good faith for a new agreement. We will not allow Mr. Fain’s tactics to distract us from that important work to secure the future for our employees.”

GM’s Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing, Gerald Johnson, also added that the automaker was “”surprised by and strongly refutes the NLRB charge filed by the International UAW. We believe it has no merit and is an insult to the bargaining committees. We have been hyper-focused on negotiating directly and in good faith with the UAW and are making progress. The pace of negotiations is based on how quickly both parties resolve nearly 1,000 UAW demands, including more than 90 presented this week. Our goal remains the same — to achieve an agreement without a disruption that rewards our team members and protects the future of the entire GM team.”

In a statement regarding Ford’s negotiation efforts, Ford CEO Jim Farley called its proposal a “generous offer.”

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“After extensive negotiations, Ford has presented a generous offer on the upcoming contract that would provide our hourly employees with 15% guaranteed combined wage increases and lump sums, and improved benefits over the life of the contract,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “Overall, this offer is significantly better than what we estimate workers earn at Tesla and foreign automakers operating in the U.S.”

The UAW posted a chart, detailing the difference between what the auto union is demanding and what Ford is proposing, even rejecting Ford’s wage increase suggestion. 

“Nine percent General Wage Increase that is an overall cut in real wages due to inflation and leaves workers even further behind,” according to the UAW but instead it wants, “Double digit pay increases to match salary increases of Big 3 CEOs and catch up with inflation.”

If contract negotiations are not met by September 14, the UAW has authorized its more than 150,000 employees across Ford, GM, and Stellantis to strike.