{"id":241978,"date":"2023-04-21T16:49:21","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T20:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=241978"},"modified":"2023-04-21T16:49:31","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T20:49:31","slug":"new-uaw-president-takes-hard-line-on-upcoming-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2023\/04\/new-uaw-president-takes-hard-line-on-upcoming-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"New UAW President Takes Hard Line on Upcoming Talks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Newly elected UAW President Shawn Fain<\/a><\/u><\/strong> offered a blunt assessment of the union\u2019s relations with automakers during a meeting with the Automotive Press Association, while revealing he flatly rejected the initial contract proposal for union members at the General Motors Ultium battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fain
President Shawn Fain set the tone for the UAW bargaining convention by opening his remarks with Michael Buffer’s “Let’s get ready to rumble.”<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

He also ticked off problems at Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis, which are creating tensions with the UAW and its new leadership as the union prepares for contract negotiations this summer with Detroit\u2019s three auto companies, which together employ more than 140,000 UAW members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares thinks he can fly over here to threaten our members about product and absenteeism, that is a problem,\u201d said Fain, who has yet to meet with Tavares directly. \u201cWe had some very stern conversations with Stellantis last week.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fain reminded attendees he was elected on a reform platform pledged to do away with what he described as \u201ccompany unionism.\u201d In short, expect some friction this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rocky relations with Stellantis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The union basically expects Stellantis to reverse its decision to shut down an assembly plant in Belvidere<\/a><\/u><\/strong>, Illinois, added Fain, who was sworn less than a month ago as the UAW\u2019s first president elected directly by UAW members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be fair, Stellantis hasn\u2019t formally announced what it plans to do with the plant, officials often correcting those who say it\u2019s closed with a reminder that it is \u201cidled,\u201d which clearly carries a different meeting for senior Stellantis executives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For too long employers have not respected union members or their contributions to company profits and success, while working to get around existing contract language by using joint ventures to drive down wages, benefits and working conditions, said Fain, who criticized the emerging production structure of the electric vehicle battery as a case in point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"UAW
Fain’s tough talk during the APA meeting suggests this may be a likely sight this summer.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At the new battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio where employees voted last December<\/a><\/u><\/strong> to join the UAW, according to Fain, Ultium, the GM-LG Energy, offered the union a proposed contract with a starting wage of $16.50 per hour, topping out at $20. \u201cThat type of scale is unacceptable,\u201d he said. \u201cThat has to change.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The battery plants come with some safety concerns and require an extensive amount of training, which deserves higher wages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fain skeptical of joint battery ventures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The joint ventures all three Detroit companies have set up around batteries are not so much about technology, in Fain\u2019s view, instead they are a way to circumvent existing labor contracts. Stellantis has set up a battery venture in Kokomo, Indiana where it employs nearly 8,000 UAW members, making conventional engines and transmissions, but there is no provision for union members to move to the new battery plant as their old jobs begin to disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fain said he was shocked the UAW said little about Ford\u2019s plans to build a new complex for building EVs and batteries in Tennessee. As it stands, there is nothing to indicate the jobs in the complex will go to UAW members, and this week Ford announced plans to import the Lincoln Nautilus from China without even bothering to notify the union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chuck
UAW VP Chuck Browning told union members its time to focus on “the boss.”<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Since taking over as UAW president at the end of March, Fain noted he has meet with the senior management at both GM and Ford and described the initial meetings as \u201ccordial and respectful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI made it very clear; we expect our members not to get lost in the transition to electric vehicles,\u201d said Fain, adding job security, the elimination of wage tier and wage increases will be at the top of the union\u2019s list of demands this coming summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing perception<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fain dismissed what he described as the narrative higher wages will make Detroit\u2019s carmakers less competitive with non-union companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur members deserve better,\u201d he said during the hourlong zoom meeting with the APA members in which he said he believes union members expect the UAW\u2019s leadership to take a harder line with employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were elected to change things,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about being adversarial, it\u2019s about respect,\u201d added Fain, who said one of goals is rebuild the power of the \u201cworking class\u201d in the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The UAW ready to demand more in contract talks with Detroit\u2019s automaker. New UAW president doesn\u2019t want union members to get lost during the transition to EVs. Check out what else Shawn Fain told reporters today at TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20009,"featured_media":240641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[914,7,8,5,1164,1347,3332],"tags":[1094,10341,512,10292,1962],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241978"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241978"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241984,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241978\/revisions\/241984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241978"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=241978"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=241978"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=241978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}