Detroit, MI
UAW Strike: What Detroit’s Big Three have offered to the union
UAW continues talks with Big 3 as workers strike for 4th day
UAW workers are back on the picket line Monday for day four of a strike that began after the union and automakers did not reach a deal last week. The automakers have failed to meet pay demands of the union.
DETROIT (FOX 2) – Monday is the fourth day of the ‘stand up strike’ by the UAW, which could drag on for weeks or months. So far, Detroit’s Big Three have not met the demands of the union – which president Shawn Fain said he will not be budging on.
Workers at three plants – the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and the GM Wentzville Assembly Plant in Missouri – were called to strike Friday after contracts with the Big Three automakers expired.
The union initially was asking for a 46% pay raise, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, the tier system removed, and restoration of traditional pensions for new hires, among other demands. However, the union said it is now willing to accept a pay raise percentage in the mid-30s.
As we’re entering the first full work-week without an agreement between the nearly 150,000 UAW members and the Big Three, Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors have all made changes to their offers.
Ford’s ‘historically generous’ offer
The UAW went on strike at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14. The day before, Ford offered a major increase in its offer with CEO Jim Farley saying it was the most generous offer in decades.
“We put an offer in today that’s our most generous offer in 80 years of the UAW and Ford,” said Farley. “Pay increases, elimination of tiers, inflation protection, five weeks of vacation, 17 paid holidays, bigger contributions for retirement. So it’s a significant enhancement, (we’re) still optimistic that we’ll get a deal, but there is a limit.”
‘We want to be paid what we’re worth’: UAW members picket outside Ford Wayne Assembly
Ford has not publicly stated what the offer was, however it’s believed to be in the range of a 20% increase in wages.
On Friday, hours after the strike started, Ford laid off 600 workers at its factory in Wayne.
In a statement from the automaker, it said the strike will have “knock-on effects” for other parts of the company’s supply chain, prompting it to shutter certain manufacturing processes.
“In this case, the strike at Michigan Assembly Plant’s final assembly and paint departments has directly impacted the operations in other parts of the facility. Approximately 600 employees at Michigan Assembly Plant’s body construction department and south sub-assembly area of integrated stamping were notified not to report to work Sept. 15,” Ford said in a statement. “This is not a lockout. This layoff is a consequence of the strike at Michigan Assembly Plant’s final assembly and paint departments, because the components built by these 600 employees use materials that must be e-coated for protection. E-coating is completed in the paint department, which is on strike.”
General Motors’ 20% increase
On Friday, General Motors gave the UAW its most recent offer – which included a raise of 20% over the life of the agreement, with half of that coming in year 1. It would also increase temporary team member wages to $20/hour.
GM is offering cost-of-living protection for maximum wage earners; a quicker path to maximum wages (cutting the path from eight years down to four); retirement security of $500 to retirees and $1,000 to active employees; and offering more time off of two weeks parental leave, Juneteenth as a company holiday, and up to 5 weeks vacation.
“We will continue to bargain in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible for the benefit of our team members, customers, suppliers and communities across the U.S. In the meantime, our priority is the safety of our workforce,” GM said in a statement as employees walked out of the Missouri plant.
Stellantis offers raises to 21%
Stellantis came out with its most recent offer on Saturday – which would raise hourly employees by 21%, with an immediate 10% raise once the contract is ratified.
Experts worry UAW strike could tip U.S. economy into recession
The company is also offered profit sharing of $44,700, increasing wage for supplemental employees to $24/hour, up 26.7%; ending wage tiers in the Mopar division while cutting progression from 8 years to 4 years; inflation protection; $1 billion in retirement security improvements; and facility modernization.
White House sending officials to help
As the strike threatens to derail the U.S. economy, President Joe Biden announced that White House advisor and acting labor secretary Julie Su to Detroit early this week to offer support in reaching an agreement. How exactly they will help has not been specified.
Biden’s officials aren’t the only politicians to get involved. State representatives and United States senators have been showing their support. On Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders joined union members in Detroit for a solidarity rally.
“The fight you are waging here is not just about decent wages and working conditions and pensions in the automobile industry. It is a fight to take on corporate greed,” Sanders said.
As more days pass without a deal, more workers could be added to the stand up strike. Currently, about 13,000 workers are striking.
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(CBS DETROIT) – Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are maintaining their encampment at Wayne State University on Monday, despite the university saying it must be disbanded.
The encampment has been in place since last Thursday. The university asked the group to disperse, citing safety concerns, but the group refused. Organizers said they are planning to stay in place until the university meets with them on their terms.
“We’re here today, defending our encampment. Because our only and main goal is divestment and they are declining meeting with us on our own terms,” said alumnus Zaynah Jadallaa.
On Monday evening, demonstrators gathered and prepared for a possible dispersant of their encampment when they ignored the 6:30 p.m. deadline to evacuate.
“Across the country, they have been using tear gases, they have been using other harmful methods. So we’re just preparing ourselves,” said Jadallaa.
She and others say the pro-Palestinian encampment is a demonstration of their right to freedom of speech and expression.
In a message to students, faculty, and staff, Wayne State University president Kimberly Espy wrote, “Wayne State is a university of inclusion that supports free speech and the right to protest. … At the same time, we must distinguish free speech from actions that violate laws, threaten health and safety, or disrupt campus operations.”
A Wayne state spokesperson says the university asked the group to remove the encampment by 6:30 p.m. Monday, and they did not.
“It’s basically an ultimatum. Either that we accept their meeting on their terms, or we would have to remove the encampment. And that’s not acceptable,” said Jadallaa.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlib joined the demonstrators at the encampment and offered her support. Organizers said they have no plans to leave.
“We’re going to stand our ground because we believe in human rights. And it’s not controversial to say we do not want to invest in war,” organizers said.
The demonstrators are now requesting a meeting with the university on their terms. They are asking to meet with Espy and the Board of Governors at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas, stars of Detroit-based HGTV show “Bargain Block,” are teaming up with several area nonprofits to raise money for new roofs in a Detroit neighborhood.
Bynum and Thomas are looking to raise $100,000 to replace 10 roofs in Detroit’s Fitzgerald neighborhood as an effort to “Roof The Block,” as the project is called.
“This initiative is really focusing in on the people that have lived in these neighborhoods for a long, long time, and to stay in their house, they need a new roof,” Bynum said in a video posted to the duo’s Instagram pages.
On “Bargain Block,” the team renovates old, often abandoned houses around the city of Detroit, doing the necessary repairs to make them safe and livable. They then sell those homes for $100,000 or more, with a focus on boosting the values across whole neighborhoods by working on clusters of houses. In the third and upcoming fourth season, the show is centered in the Fitzgerald neighborhood on the city’s west side.
Repairing roofs prevents water damage and and is one of the most important ways to stop homes from becoming unlivable, the effort says on its GoFundMe page.
Through their design office Nine Design and Homes, Bynum and Thomas have paired with nonprofit Brilliant Detroit and the Relentless Care Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Community Financial Credit Union, for the fundraiser.
On the show, Bynum and Thomas have flipped more than 50 homes, according to their Instagram post. The couple joins with Shea Hicks Whitfield, who serves as the real estate agent for the homes. Bynum and Thomas, who met in Colorado before moving to the area in 2017, even documented the process of flipping the Detroit home that would eventually become their own, including later renovations to expand on it.
The fundraiser, which can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/rooftheblock, had raised more than $4,300 in the first few hours after it was posted to social media.
Memorial Day is off to a wet start, with a steady stream of rainfall across southeast Michigan that started early Monday morning.
The rain snarled some Detroit roadways, according to Michigan Department of Transportation updates, causing flooding on the northbound Interstate 75 ramp to eastbound Davison freeway and flooding on westbound I-696 near Evergreen Road, blocking one lane.
But the National Weather Service forecasts that the storms should roll out of the area by the afternoon, with a chance of some windy conditions.
It’s unclear if the weather will affect the Movement Festival’s third day of music in Hart Plaza. On Saturday, storms led to a lengthy pause in festivities, but the partying later resumed. Monday’s first acts are scheduled to take the stage at 2 p.m.
Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com.
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