As we told you on Auto Plus a few days ago, the auto strike currently raging in the United States is gaining momentum. And it is obvious that this promotion, which has been going on for two weeks, not ready to stop.

Indeed, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Friday called for a walkout for 7,000 of its members. bringing the total number of furloughed workers to approximately 25,000 at the country’s three major auto manufacturers.. This extension of the strike involves two large plants, one owned by Ford, located in Chicago, and the other owned by General Motors, located in Lansing, Michigan.

Will Stellantis be out of the woods soon?

UAW President Sean Fein announced this new wave of strikes but clarified that he is not asking his members, Stellantis, the third member of the “Big Three” of historic manufacturers, to join the movement because “significant progress” made during the current negotiations. Among the discussed points are: wage adjustment mechanism based on the living wage and the right to strike in the event of the closure of the enterprise or announcement of relocation by the manufacturer.

said the UAW president “enthusiastic” to see the progress of Stellantis and expressed the hope that this progress will continue. However, he also emphasized this “disagreements remain” in ongoing negotiations with Stellantis.

At first, Stellantis, like General Motors, was criticized for its apparent inflexibility. However, the UAW welcomed significant progress in negotiations with Ford last week.

Ford did not end the strike

But recently, the situation seems to have changed. The UAW president publicly criticized Ford for suspending construction work at a battery plant in Michigana project that is considered the main one for the Dearborn Group.

Responding to the criticism, Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley accused the UAW of bad faith, saying the union was misleading its members into believing the company’s shift to electric vehicles would lead to job cuts. He said this during a telephone conference “none of our workers will lose their jobs because of our battery plants during the next collective agreement or even after”.

Ford’s plans for new battery plants in the United States involve partnerships with foreign companies, raising concerns among some elected officials and the public.

A strike at the heart of a political battle?

Despite this call for a strike, most of the 146,000 unionized workers at the three major manufacturers remain on the job. The strikers received significant support this week from a visit by United States President Joe Biden to picket GM’s parts distribution center in Belleville, a suburb of Detroit.

The president has publicly supported the UAW’s demand for a roughly 40 percent wage increase over the life of the new collective bargaining agreement, which is four years.

Former President Donald Trump also visited the region this week, criticizing Joe Biden’s energy transition policies that promote electric vehicles and trying to blame him for the current social conflict.

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