UAW Strikes at More GM and Stellantis Sites, But Spares Ford
Union President Shawn Fain says Ford has sweetened its offer in recent days
The United Auto Workers union on Friday sent another 5,600 members out on strike at General Motors and Chrysler-parent Stellantis, widening the impact of its work stoppage and extending it to parts-distribution centers that supply dealerships.
The union spared Ford from additional walkouts, saying it was making progress in contract talks with the automaker.
UAW President Shawn Fain told members during a livestream address Friday morning that the action targets 38 parts-distribution centers across 20 states. The move brings the number of UAW members on strike to more than 18,000.
The distribution facilities ship service parts to dealerships. Crimping the flow of components from the centers is likely to disrupt GM and Stellantis dealers’ service operations, potentially leading to longer wait times for customers.
General Motors
Stellantis
Plants targeted Sept. 14
Parts-distribution centers targeted Sept. 22
Mich.
Detroit
Minn.
Ore.
Mass.
Wis.
N.Y.
Pa.
Nev.
Ohio
Ill.
W.Va.
Colo.
Calif.
Va.
Mo.
N.C.
Tenn.
Miss.
Ga.
Texas
Fla.
General Motors
Stellantis
Parts-distribution centers targeted Sept. 22
Plants targeted Sept. 14
Mich.
Minn.
Detroit
Ore.
Mass.
Wis.
N.Y.
Pa.
Nev.
Ohio
Ill.
W.Va.
Colo.
Calif.
Va.
Mo.
N.C.
Tenn.
Miss.
Ga.
Texas
Fla.
General Motors
Stellantis
Parts-distribution centers targeted Sept. 22
Plants targeted Sept. 14
Mich.
Minn.
Detroit
Ore.
Mass.
Wis.
N.Y.
Pa.
Nev.
Ohio
Ill.
W.Va.
Colo.
Calif.
Va.
Mo.
N.C.
Tenn.
Miss.
Ga.
Texas
Fla.
Parts-distribution centers targeted Sept. 22
General Motors
Stellantis
Plants targeted Sept. 14
Parts-distribution centers targeted Sept. 22
General Motors
Stellantis
Plants targeted Sept. 14
Fain said Ford had sweetened its offer in recent days, and the union wanted to recognize that the company was serious about reaching a deal.
“At GM and Stellantis, it’s a different story,” Fain said. He said Ford agreed to reinstate cost-of-living increases, which were suspended in 2009, along with enhanced profit-sharing and the right to strike over plant closures, among other offers.
He didn’t specifically reference the company’s wage-increase proposal—the latest public offer was for about 20% over four years—and added that “serious issues” remained to be worked through with Ford.
A Ford spokesman said the company was working diligently with the UAW to reach a deal, but that there were still significant gaps on important economic issues.
GM called the strike “unnecessary,” and said it has contingency plans to blunt the impact. It reiterated that it has a “historic” offer on the table for wage increases and job security.
Stellantis said it questions whether the UAW ever had interest in reaching a deal in a timely manner. It pointed to an offer it submitted last week that it says would have provided full-time hourly workers up to $96,000 a year in earnings and stability through the four-year contract. The automaker said it hadn’t received a response to its proposal from the union.
President Biden will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to join striking UAW members on the picket line, he said on the X social-media site. Former President Donald Trump is expected to be in Michigan on Wednesday.
The union’s move Friday marked an escalation of its strike strategy, which had initially targeted three specific assembly factories, one for each company.
The distribution centers don’t manufacture parts. But the downstream impact of their closures on thousands of GM and Stellantis dealers and their customers could inject disruption into the retail side of the business sooner than the assembly-plant shutdowns, which will take longer to affect new-car availability.
Targeting the centers also carries significance because Stellantis, in a recent proposal to the union, has sought to close more than a dozen such facilities in an effort to consolidate its North American operations.
Dealers say the toll the move will take on service departments is likely to be swiftly felt. While some dealers have been stockpiling parts, they are still dealing with the lingering effects of shortages caused by supply-chain troubles during the pandemic.
“It’s just going to amplify the issue, and it could be catastrophic really,” said David Kelleher, owner of David Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram in Glen Mills, Pa., “Customers need their cars.”
In 2019, when the UAW went on strike across all of GM’s U.S. facilities, the cutoff of service parts to dealerships began affecting stores within a week. Dealers struggled to get backup components. Many said they had to turn away service customers.
GM owns four brands: Chevrolet; GMC; Buick; and Cadillac. Stellantis, which absorbed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in a 2021 merger, has a larger array of names, including Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
Late last week, the union initiated a strike—the first against all three companies simultaneously in its 88-year history—at plants in suburban Detroit, Toledo, Ohio, and Missouri. The sites make highly profitable pickups and SUVs, including the Jeep Wrangler and the Ford Bronco.
Fain has said the UAW’s strategy is to keep the companies guessing through factory shutdowns that they might not have expected or prepared for. By not calling an all-out strike, the union also is able to keep most of its 146,000 auto members on the job and conserve a $825 million fund it uses to pay striking workers $500 a week.
The UAW has been bargaining with the companies for more than two months on a new four-year labor contract. Negotiators have been meeting all week, but publicly, the sides have reported little progress toward bridging what they have described as a significant gap in proposals on wage increases and other issues.
The latest counteroffers from the companies settled at around 20% wage increases over four years, among other benefits, proposals that auto executives have called the most generous in decades. The union has called these offers insufficient, and it recently has pushed for a mid-30% wage increase, down from an initial 40%.
Some parts-distribution workers were taken by surprise that their facilities were picked for a walkout.
At GM’s Flint Processing Center in Michigan, Fain’s words echoed through the building Friday morning as everyone quietly watched his livestream and waited to see if they would be called on for a strike, said Joe Napolitano, a UAW employee at the facility.
There was a mixture of excitement and concern when his workplace was selected, he said. Napolitano worries about supporting his three children and partner on $500 weekly strike pay.
Still, he feels it is important to strike. “This is about everybody,” he said.
The union and the automakers have continued to engage in a volley of public attacks, a sign of the distrust and frustration that exists between the two sides. The latest is a leak of purported private messages posted by the UAW’s communications director that show him crowing about the union’s strategy and ability to create chaos.
GM, referencing the posts, accused the union of not taking the talks seriously and planning a monthslong strike to support an “ideological agenda.”
Ford also issued a statement, describing the messages as disappointing, given what is at stake for workers. Stellantis called the posts disturbing and accused the UAW of using its employees as pawns.
A representative for the UAW’s communications director declined to comment.
“Shame on the corporations for putting that BS out there, number one,” Fain told reporters Friday afternoon. “The message may be true, whoever said it, but the point is this: Our mission has been to get an agreement.”
Ken Thomas contributed to this article.
Write to Nora Eckert at nora.eckert@wsj.com, Mike Colias at mike.colias@wsj.com and Ryan Felton at ryan.felton@wsj.com
UAW’s Unprecedented Strike
Impact of the union’s work stoppage at GM, Ford and Stellantis
Corrections & Amplifications
The United Auto Workers union on Friday said that its members would go on strike at 38 parts-distribution centers. An earlier version of this article included a graphic that incorrectly referred to the centers as plants. (Corrected on Sept. 22.)