Tense lead-up made UAW strike seem unavoidable

DETROIT — In the days before the UAW called a historic strike against the Detroit 3 last week, the result of the automakers' contract negotiations shifted from seeming unpredictable to looking unavoidable.

From the outset, the union's first-year president, Shawn Fain, had shaken up the normally confidential bargaining process — skipping the traditional handshakes, publicizing formerly closed-door proceedings and mobilizing his membership through social media broadcasts and in-person rallies.

But in public and in private, executives from the automakers suggested last week — sometimes not so subtly — that Fain didn't necessarily want to reach a deal before sending thousands of workers onto picket lines.

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley said Fain didn't show up to meet with him and Executive Chair Bill Ford two days before the deadline and that the company "heard nothing" from the union until the final hours. General Motors CEO Mary Barra told CNBC she was "frustrated"; the company's workers "didn't need to be on strike right now," she said Friday. Stellantis, in a statement, said it was "extremely disappointed by the UAW leadership's refusal to engage in a responsible manner."

Hours before the deadline, Fain was at the bargaining table with multiple automakers, according to people with direct knowledge of the talks. But the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private negotiations, say the tone was superficial and that discussions ceased by 10 p.m., when Fain began a Facebook livestream to announce that workers at one assembly plant from each of the three automakers would strike at midnight.

One source said it was a "foregone conclusion that this strike action was predetermined."

Fain joined picketers shortly after midnight at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant, about a 40-minute drive from the negotiations at UAW headquarters. He canceled bargaining for the rest of Friday and spent the afternoon visiting striking Stellantis workers in Ohio and joining U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders at a rally in Detroit that the union had been promoting well ahead of time.

"What the UAW is fighting for is not radical," Sanders told the crowd. "There was once a time when a union job in the automobile industry was the gold standard for the working class in America. We are determined to bring those days back again."

Fain bristled at the notion he had bargained in bad faith, saying "this is on them" for waiting so long to present formal offers. He took particular umbrage to Farley's comments.

"I've been in meetings every day, every week for the last eight weeks," he told reporters. "Jim Farley and Bill Ford have been missing in action. They came in at the opening ceremony and until last week that's the first time they've been back. That's shameful of them to even make that statement."

The insinuations and finger-pointing marred what appeared to be some negotiating momentum.

GM earlier that day had presented what it called "a compelling and unprecedented economic package," matching Ford's offer to give workers raises totaling 20% over four years.

GM also said it proposed a "retirement security" contribution of $500 to retirees and $1,000 to an active employee defined-benefit program, which represented movement from previous offers. It also offered to reinstate a cost-of-living adjustment formula.

The automaker proposed two weeks of paid parental leave and up to five weeks of paid vacation, matching Ford.

Ford's offer last week included a $3,000 bonus for workers who had to wait eight years to reach the top of the wage scale, company sources said. Ford, GM and Stellantis have each offered to cut that grow-in period to four years.

Ford sources said the company was offering to raise total annual worker compensation, including health care and other benefits, to $132,000 from roughly $112,000 today.

The minute the deadline passed, the UAW called its first-ever simultaneous strike against the Detroit 3, though workers at only three preselected plants in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri were asked to walk off the job.

The UAW has said it will tell additional workers to join the stoppage if it fails to make progress at the bargaining table. GM and Ford each said Friday they expected to temporarily lay off other workers this week because of the strike.

Under most circumstances, the UAW's tactic would be illegal. Workers at individual plants can strike only over local bargaining issues, and Fain made clear that the walkouts are over national issues. Labor law experts say the union has legal cover because the strike is happening under an expired contract.

Most terms and conditions of the contract are enforceable after it expires, and management must maintain the status quo on items such as wages, overtime pay, bonuses, break time and profit sharing. But the contract's no-strike clause expires with it, along with provisions related to arbitration, union security and management rights.

"This allows our union to call on a local to stand up and strike at a moment's notice," Ben Dictor, the UAW's legal counsel, said in a video explaining the situation to members.

The mood outside Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant as the strike began was one of celebration. Fain appeared jubilant, smiling and leading chants. At one point, he embraced a beaming UAW Vice President Chuck Browning amid cheers and honking from passing cars.

Speaking to reporters, Fain applauded members there as "the tip of the spear."

"They're the first ones out, and I'm damn proud of them," he said, adding that the union would stay on strike "as long as it takes."

Shaun Gaddis, a member of Local 900, described the scene as energetic.

"The solidarity is amazing," he said. "We're going to stand together to get what we deserve."

At the Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio close to midnight, a roar came from the Jeep plant. Outside, UAW members from nearby Local 1435, a Stellantis parts plant in Perrysburg, waited to join the picket line.

Bridgette Meilink, who has worked on the Wrangler line at Toledo Jeep Assembly for 10 years, found herself not just on strike, but a strike captain for Local 12 outside the plant less than an hour after walking off her job.

"There was a lot of anticipation to see what he (Fain) was going to say at 10," at the lunch break, said Meilink, who had worked as a team leader in the body shop portion of the Wrangler line. "Then once we saw for sure, just everybody was excited about the build-up."

It's unclear how long that excitement might last, according to Marick Masters, a labor expert at Wayne State University in Detroit.

"They're pumped up, but a few more days on the picket line when they don't see any progress and that enthusiasm will wane pretty quickly," he said.

Automotive News reporters Larry P. Vellequette and Lindsay VanHulle contributed to this story.

Editor's note: This coverage comes from Tire Business sister publication Automotive News. Follow live updates on UAW strike here.