The strike, starting at midnight on Thursday (1 am Brasília time, Friday), “starts in the 'Big Three'”, the UAW union announced on X (formerly Twitter), in reference to General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which controls Chrysler.
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The measure could destabilize the sector and even the national economy.
The three affected units are General Motors' Wentzville (Missouri), Stellantis' Toledo (Ohio) and Ford's Wayne (Michigan) factories, which have 12.700 UAW union workers on their assembly lines.
In two months of negotiations, UAW representatives and “Big Three” executives failed to reach agreement on a new four-year collective agreement.
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“We are starting a new strategy,” announced Shawn Fain, president of the union, two hours before the deadline to reach an agreement.
Fain pediu aos quase 146.000 membros do sindicato que estivessem preparado para aderir à greve, dependendo da evolução das negociações. E alertou que o UAW não hesitaria em prolongar a paralisação.
Ford, which complained about the delay in the UAW's response to its latest offer, received a counteroffer overnight and called the conditions “unsustainable.”
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“Ford negotiated in good faith in an effort to avoid a strike,” the company said. The group's statement adds that it "remains absolutely committed to reaching an agreement that rewards our employees and protects Ford's ability to invest in the future as we advance the entire industry's transformation to electric vehicles."
General Motors and Stellantis have not commented at press time.
History
“We told companies from the beginning that September 14 (at midnight) is a deadline,” Fain said Wednesday. “We will not allow the Big Three to continue postponing discussions for months,” he emphasized.
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“I don’t know what Shawn Fain is doing, but he’s not negotiating his contract with us when it’s about to expire. But I know he’s busy preparing a strike,” Ford CEO Jim Farley commented Thursday.
“He wants a historic strike in the three groups, but we want to make history with a historic agreement,” he said.
A General Motors spokesman said Thursday at noon that a new offer has been sent to the UAW. “We continue to engage in direct and good faith negotiations,” he assured. “Any disruption would have negative consequences for our employees and customers.”
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O UAW exige um aumento salarial de 36% em quatro anos, enquanto as três montadoras americanas não ultrapassaram os 20% em suas contrapropostas, de acordo com o líder sindical.
Detroit's historic giants also refused to grant additional vacation days and increase pensions, paid out of company-specific funds.
A risk for Biden
A prolonged social conflict could have political consequences for President Joe Biden, whose economic record is criticized, especially due to persistent inflation in the country.
With just over a year to go before the presidential elections, the head of state has a dilemma to resolve, between his declared support for unions and the fear of a blow to the American economy due to a strike.
On Thursday night, Biden spoke by phone with Fain and auto executives.
“Consumers and traders are, in general, relatively protected from the effects of a short strike”, explained the vice president of consultancy AEG, Tyler Theile.
But with inventories representing 20% of what the industry had in 2019, during GM's last strike, they "could be affected much more quickly" than four years ago, he said.
Analysts at JPMorgan believe that a sharp increase in wages would have an impact on vehicle sales prices, leading drivers to “keep their cars longer” instead of buying a new model.
