News & Commentary October 22, 2023 the UAW continues to make progress with the Big Three

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/october-22-2023/

By Swap Agrawal

Swap Agrawal is a student at Harvard Law School.

In this weekend’s news and commentary, the UAW continues to make progress with the Big Three, and the AMPTP returns to the negotiating table with SAG-AFTRA.

On October 20, the UAW said that it had received new contract offers from two of the Big Three automakers. Both Stellantis and General Motors reported that they were raising their offers to match the 23% wage hike and other benefit improvements previously offered by Ford. UAW gave public updates on Friday to its members on where things stand at Stellantis, General Motors, and Ford. UAW President Shawn Fain acknowledged that the automakers have offered record contracts and did not call for any more plant walkouts. However, he said the union needs more before it can agree to a deal. “There is more to be won,” Fain said during an online broadcast. “These are already record contracts, but they come at the end of decades of record decline. So it’s not enough to be the best ever, when auto workers have gone backwards over the last two decades. That’s a very low bar.” UAW initially demanded 40% wage increases, but Bloomberg reports that the union is now looking for a 25% increase. Fain indicated that a deal is close. “We’ve got cards left to play and they’ve got money left to spend,” Fain said. “That’s the hardest part of the strike. Right before a deal is when there is the most aggressive push for that last mile.”

FULL story at link above.