President Joe Biden called for ‘all sides to work together to forge a fair agreement’ as the UAW continued talks with the Detroit 3 automakers.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday called for “all sides to work together to forge a fair agreement” as the UAW continued contract talks with the Detroit 3 automakers.
“I’m asking all sides to work together to forge a fair agreement,” Biden said in a statement as talks continue between the UAW and Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Chrysler parent company Stellantis.
“The UAW helped create the American middle class and as we move forward in this transition to new technologies, the UAW deserves a contract that sustains the middle class,” Biden said in the statement released by the White House.
The union represents 150,000 U.S. hourly workers at the three automakers and has not ruled out striking at all of them if new contracts are not reached by a Sept. 14 deadline.
UAW President Shawn Fain briefed Biden last month on the negotiations and met with U.S. lawmakers as the union pushes for higher wages and benefits. He has also criticized some of the Biden administration’s EV policies, and the union so far has not endorsed Biden’s re-election bid.
Biden, a Democrat, campaigned on union support and has weighed in on labor talks in the railroad industry and other sectors.
Addressing climate change is also a key part of his agenda. “I support a fair transition to a clean-energy future,” he said on Monday.
Statement issued Aug. 14 from President Joe Biden on the UAW and Detroit 3 contract negotiations
“The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class. The need to transition to a clean energy economy should provide a win-win opportunity for auto companies and unionized workers. It should enable workers to make good wages and benefits to support their families, while leading us into a future where America is leading the way in reducing vehicle emissions and producing autos that will successfully compete domestically and globally. Companies should use this process to make sure they enlist their workers in the next chapter of the industry by offering them good paying jobs and a say in the future of their workplace.
“As the Big Three auto companies and the United Auto Workers come together — one month before the expiration of their contract — to negotiate a new agreement, I want to be clear about where I stand. I’m asking all sides to work together to forge a fair agreement.
“I support a fair transition to a clean energy future. That means ensuring that Big Three auto jobs are good jobs that can support a family; that auto companies should honor the right to organize; take every possible step to avoid painful plant closings; and ensure that when transitions are needed, the transitions are fair and look to retool, reboot, and rehire in the same factories and communities at comparable wages, while giving existing workers the first shot to fill those jobs. The UAW helped create the American middle class and as we move forward in this transition to new technologies, the UAW deserves a contract that sustains the middle class.”
The UAW is seeking to include workers at joint venture vehicle battery plants in its contracts.
Stellantis, in a statement, said it “remains committed to working constructively and collaboratively with the UAW to negotiate a new agreement that balances the concerns of our 43,000 employees with our vision for the future.”
Fain, in a prepared statement issued by the UAW, said Biden’s remarks were appreciated.
“We agree with the president that the (Detroit 3)’s joint venture battery plants should have the same strong pay and safety standards that generations of UAW members have fought for,” Fain’s statement said. “As the president said, the UAW helped build the middle class and we are fighting for contracts that will bring prosperity back to working-class communities that have been struggling for far too long.
“The (Detroit 3) have been extraordinarily profitable for years now, making a quarter-trillion dollars in North American profits over the last decade and another $21 billion in total profits in the first half of this year. With the president’s support, we know those profits can be invested in collective bargaining agreements that lift up autoworkers, our families and our communities.”
Representatives for Ford and GM did not respond to requests for comment.
A strike at any of the automakers would hit earnings by about $400 million to $500 million per week of production, Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner said in a research note on Monday.
The union’s requests also carry costs due to its requested wage increases, cost-of-living adjustments and elimination of the two-tiered wage system, Rosner noted.
Deutsche Bank estimated total incremental costs to the three automakers combined would be $3.6 billion in the first year and total $23 billion in the four years of the contract.
But other cost estimates have been far higher.
The UAW’s list of contract demands — including more than 40 percent raises for members — would increase labor costs for the Detroit 3 by $45 billion to $80 billion a year and threaten their future viability, according to calculations by people familiar with the companies’ costs.
Detroit 3 also are negotiating new contracts with Canada’s Unifor union.
Automotive News contributed to this report.
