UAW President Shawn Fain said members want him to fight for an end to the two-tiered wage system and to temporary workers, and for reinstatement of benefits like cost-of-living adjustments and pensions.
TERRY KOSDROSKY
UAW President Shawn Fain poses with UAW members at a Stellantis plant in suburban Detroit earlier Wednesday.
DETROIT — UAW leaders on Wednesday marked the start of what are expected to be contentious contract negotiations with the Detroit 3 in a nontraditional way: visiting auto plants and speaking directly with members.
UAW President Shawn Fain and other members of the international executive board appeared outside Stellantis‘ Sterling Heights Assembly Plant early Wednesday morning, and planned to be at General Motors and Ford Motor Co. plants later in the day. The union chose the plant photo ops instead of the traditional handshakes with company executives to kick off negotiations.
Fain said workers told him they want to see an end to the two-tiered wage system, an end to temporary workers and the reinstatement of benefits such as cost-of-living adjustments and pensions.
“Since the Great Recession, we haven’t gained, really, anything,” Fain told reporters. “And the companies have made a quarter of a trillion dollars in profits in the last decade.”
To be sure, in recent years union workers have gotten wage increases, more generous tweaks to the formula used to calculate profit-sharing checks and caps on the number of temporary workers, among other gains. But Fain is seeking to win back virtually all concessions lost since 2007.
On Wednesday, he indicated the union won’t pick a target company, as is tradition, but would instead negotiate with all three automakers at once.
“The strike target is the Big 3,” Fain said. “If the Big 3’s not going to come to the pump for workers, there’s going to be issues.”
Tuesday evening, Fain appeared on Facebook Live asking members to fill out a “support card” with their contact information so the union can keep them informed of bargaining updates. Fain has promised better communication than past leaders.
“We’re taking a different approach every step of the way,” he said.
Fain said he is determined to win gains for union membership.
“We’ve got to stop this can’t-do mentality,” he said. “The question I need you to think about is, ‘How far are you willing to go to win the contract you deserve?’ ”
