UAW Strike Expansion Seems Inevitable as Automakers Begin Layoffs

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is about to enter its seventh day on strike after being in a stalemate with the «Big Three» Detroit automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis—for months. Despite the union and automakers attempting to come to a deal, the organizations have been deadlocked and both sides are working to counter one another's offers.

On Tuesday, Stellantis turned down the UAW's offer and countered with one of its own that has yet to be accepted. That offer marked the first from one of the automakers since the strike began on Sept. 15. To make matters even more complicated, the UAW has set a deadline of Friday at noon to wrap up negotiations with the big three. If «substantial progress» isn't made by then, the UAW says that it will add additional locations to its strike.

One of the biggest asks from the UAW is 40% hourly pay increase for workers over the next three years. The UAW cites the increase in executive pay as its rationale and, according to a source familiar with the terms who spoke with Yahoo Finance, the gap between the union's ask and the offers coming from GM, to name one example, is «very big.»

Ford offered workers a 20% increase over four years following the start of the strike. General Motors reportedly matched that offer, and Stellantis put 21% on the table. But that's not enough for the UAW.

«The reason we ask for 40% pay increases is because, in the last four years alone, the CEO pay went up 40%,» said UAW president Shawn Fain. «They're already millionaires.»

GM president Mark Reuss says that the UAW's claims of «poverty» wages from the company is part of a «flow of misinformation.» In an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press, Reuss claims that around 85% of UAW-represented GM workers would be paid a base wage of $82,000 under the automaker's proposal, which balloons to more than $150,000 per year with overtime and benefits factored in. Reuss also notes that the median household income in nine areas where it has major assembly plants is $51,821.

The UAW has also noted that current labor costs account for around 5% of the purchase price of a vehicle. In 2022, the average cost of a new vehicle was $46,290, meaning that a 40%