Thousands of Indiana workers are waiting to see if they will go on strike with the United Auto Workers as the union prepares to launch strikes against the “Big Three” automakers — Ford, Stellantis and General Motors — if an agreement is not reached by Thursday night.
Union representatives are asking the three Detroit-based companies for a 46% wage increase, cost of living raises, a 32-hour workweek for 40 hours of pay, the end of “tiered wages,” or a system where some workers receive automatically lower pay if they start after a certain date, and a return to pensions. Stellantis, Ford and made a combined $20 billion in profits and UAW members argue that “record profits should mean record wages.”
UAW president Shawn Fain, who worked at Kokomo Casting Plant and served as a committeeperson and shop chair of Local 1166 there, is leading strike efforts. Fain was elected as president of UAW in March and is helming the negotiations with the three automakers in a way that’s putting pressure on the companies, an expert told the Detroit Free Press.
It’s yet another example of the wave of labor union action across the country, from strikes against studios in Hollywood to a narrowly averted work stoppage from UPS workers earlier this summer. A 10-day strike against all Big Three automakers could cost the economy over $5 billion.
Here’s what to know about what a UAW strike could mean for Indiana.
Where are the “Big Three” plants in Indiana?
There are at least 10 “Big Three” auto manufacturing facilities in Indiana.
Stellantis has four transmission, casting and engine plants in Kokomo and a transmission facility in Tipton. In total, the company, which manufactures Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge cars, employs over 6,100 salaried and hourly workers in Indiana.
General Motors has plants scattered throughout the state: a stamping plant in Marion, an assembly plant in Roanoke near Fort Wayne, an electronics manufacturing plant in Kokomo and a casting operations facility in Bedford. General Motors makes Buicks, Chevrolets and Cadillacs and employs over 6,200 workers statewide.
Ford has a parts facility in Plainfield, where workers are represented by UAW Local 933, UAW representative Petra Jameson told IndyStar.
All Indiana locations are represented by local unions within UAW and are affected by national labor action from UAW, according to the Stellantis and General Motors websites and labor representatives. The GM Bedford plant also has representation within the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
What’s the strike plan?
Should negotiations fail to reach a head by contract expiration midnight Thursday, a limited number of Big Three plants would go on strike, with the possibility of more joining the longer contract negotiations drag on, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Fain is calling it a “stand-up strike,” a reference to the “sit-down strikes” the UAW organized in the 1930s.
The last time UAW members went on strike was 2019, when General Motors employees walked off the job for 40 days until a new contract was reached.
All UAW locals across the three carmakers are being told to have members ready to walk out in the event their plant is targeted for the first round of strikes, the Free Press reported. The first wave of plants to walk out is expected to do so shortly after the contract expires, if there is no agreement. Fain said Wednesday night that UAW was seeing movement from all three companies but that they were still far apart on key issues.
This “soft launch” strategy of limited striking would allow the strike to go longer, as a strike across all locations immediately would be costly for the union, the Free Press reported.
UAW has an $825 million strike fund, the Free Press reported, but that would be quickly depleted should the 146,000 union members at GM, Stellantis and Ford all strike at the same time. The union would have to pay each striking worker $500 a week, not including health insurance payments.
What Indiana plants will be affected by a strike?
The union has not revealed yet which plants will be affected by the targeted strike strategy.
Fain will reveal which plants will go on strike at 10 p.m. Thursday night in a Facebook live event. Though the list has not been made public yet, “it is very likely that some Indiana facilities will go on strike,” Jameson told IndyStar.
Source : IndyStar.
