(Detroit) The Detroit auto show opened its doors to the press on Wednesday, but this year, it is not the beautiful grilles that attract attention, but the threat of a strike by the three major American manufacturers.
“It’s making headlines,” said Alan Amici, president of the Center for Automotive Research, a think tank in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “People are a little nervous about it and we will know the results shortly before midnight tomorrow,” he added.
At midnight on Thursday evening, the collective agreements of the “Big Three” will expire: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. A crucial deadline, because the powerful United Auto Workers (UAW) union is threatening a work stoppage in the absence of a satisfactory agreement.
Negotiations began several months ago, under the leadership of its new president Shawn Fain, who is demanding significant salary increases for its approximately 150,000 members in the three groups in view of record profits.
Sources in the sector are cautiously optimistic, but with a dose of mistrust, with some observing signals that could herald a work stoppage.
And in particular the announcement by the UAW of a rally Friday in downtown Detroit, with Shawn Fain and Senator Bernie Sanders, close to the radical left, one of the most fervent defenders in the Union Congress.
Ford boss Jim Farley said he was optimistic on Tuesday evening. He said, on the sidelines of an event in Detroit, that Ford made a third offer to the UAW on Tuesday, the “most generous” in 80 years of collaboration between the manufacturer and the union, including wage increases, measures of inflation protection, 17 days of paid vacation and higher retirement contributions.
He stressed, however, that there are limits to what the manufacturer can accept, mentioning the 32-hour or four-day week, for “the viability of the business.”
Mr. Fain is demanding pay rises of 40%, the same size as those granted to executives in recent years. He also advocates, among other things, for job security during the transition to electric vehicles.
The manufacturers have proposed at this stage between 10 and 14.5% wage increases, offers described as “insulting” by the unionist.
Former President Donald Trump, who hopes to seek re-election to the White House in 2024, called on UAW members to “make a complete and total repeal of Joe Bdien’s insane electric vehicle mandate, their main and non-negotiable demand in any strike”. Without it, he predicted, “the American auto industry will cease to exist, and all your jobs will be sent to China.”
Joe Biden wants half of the cars sold in 2030 in the United States to be emission-free (electric, hydrogen) or low-emission (plug-in hybrids).
“Scoundrel Joe sold you out to appease the environmental extremists in his party. Don’t surrender! “, further urged the Republican.
The economic consequences of a strike, if it occurs, will depend on its scale and duration.
In the worst-case scenario, namely the three groups affected over a long period, household consumption would suffer and layoffs at manufacturers’ suppliers could follow, according to industry experts.
The Detroit Auto Show was previously held in January, but it has changed seasons in 2022, shifting its focus to the general public to which it will open its doors on Saturday.
Ford kicked things off Tuesday evening with a new version of its F-150 pickup truck, the best-selling vehicle in the United States for several decades. A real party with performances, including that of country singer Darius Rucker.
GM and Stellantis unveiled new vehicles Wednesday morning.
But on the ground, employees began to organize: the UAW branch at the Ford pickup plant in Dearborn, Michigan, assigned roles for the first seven days of a work stoppage . Picketing guidelines instruct employees to “peacefully” patrol off factory grounds, not leave litter behind, and not bring in alcohol.