Fain draws line in the sand with Big Three
UAW president says wages, benefits, worker equality top list of contract demands
This article is brought to you by Freedom Financial.
United Auto Workers (UAW) International President and Kokomo native Shawn Fain addressed the membership of the union on the eve of its negotiations with the “Big Three” U.S. automakers on Aug. 1, and the message he sent was clear: “Record profits mean record contracts.”
Fain explained that the union’s demands at the bargaining table will involve wage and benefit increases, the elimination of the tiered worker structure, an end to exploiting temporary workers, and the restoration of health insurance for retirees.
The address, given on Facebook Live, demonstrated that Fain intends to take the union in a new direction. He vowed to conduct a more transparent and inclusive bargaining process, and he set Sept. 14 as a firm date for the establishment of new contracts, with strikes possibly to follow if agreements aren’t reached by that date.
He started by pointing out that the U.S. automotive industry is as rich as it ever has been, but that success hasn’t been shared with the workers.
“The Big Three released their quarterly earnings reports last week, and the companies again are having a blockbuster year,” said Fain. “Profits at GM are soaring. Profits at Stellantis are record-breaking. Profits at Ford are surging. Altogether, the big three have made a combined, bottom-line profit of $21 billion in the first half of 2023.
“And now they're telling Wall Street their profits for the full year will be billions more than they originally expected. This comes on top of the quarter of a trillion dollars that the big three collectively made in North American profits over the last 10 years.
“So, what have the big three done with these staggering profits? Instead of rewarding the workers who spent long hours wrecking their bodies on the line to make these profits possible, The Big Three have funneled billions into stock buyback schemes that artificially inflate the value of company shares and further enrich company executives and the top one percent.
“That's billions of dollars that have been robbed from the workers made these profits possible. That's billions of dollars that weren't spent on the EV (electric vehicle) transition. So, when the Big Three say the future is uncertain, and that the EV transition is expensive, remember that they've made a quarter of a trillion in North American profits over the last decade, and have poured billions of it into special dividends, stock buybacks and supersize executive compensation.”
Fain rolled out a series of important statistics that highlight the economic disparity between the line workers and corporate leadership, as well as the declining prosperity of the UAW membership. In 2007, a UAW worker enjoyed a higher starting wage than they do today. Had the wages of that time risen just to keep pace with inflation, those workers would be making $28.68 per hour. Instead, General Motors pays $16.67 an hour as a starting wage, while Stellantis pays just $15.78 per hour.
“That's almost $21,000 more per year,” said Fain. “That's a life-changing amount of money that our members have been robbed of. But that's not the full story. The starting pay today is even lower for our temporary workers.
“In 2007, it took three years for a new hire to reach the top rate back then of $28 an hour. Today, 16 years later, it takes eight years to reach a top rate of around $32 an hour. Even that top rate is much lower than it should be.”
Fain followed this by pointing out that the UAW conceded Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) during the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The COLA was established in 1948, and it kept autoworkers from losing buying power for decades. Even though the automotive industry recovered from that difficult time to enjoy record profits today, the COLA was not restored. Corporate pay, however, increased by 40 percent over the past four years.
“We're proposing substantial wage increases that will offset years of damaging inflation and put auto workers back on the path towards shared prosperity,” said Fain. “Yes, we're demanding double-digit pay raises. CEOs saw their pay spike 40 percent on average over the last four years. We know our members are worth the same and more.
“We're proposing the Cost of Living Allowance be restored. It’s the Cost of Living Allowance that made sure working class communities thrive for decades. Taking that away hammered us, and it hammered our home towns.”
The UAW also will go to bat for its retirees by demanding the restoration of retiree healthcare benefits and the assurance of a defined benefit pension plan for all UAW workers at the Big Three.
“Prior to 2007, every member of the Big Three earned a pension, and every member received health care when they retired,” said Fain. “Today, the majority of our members across the Big Three automakers are second-class workers who are being denied retiree health care and pensions. The rich are getting richer, while the rest of us are getting left behind.”
Fain also announced that the UAW will seek the elimination of the two-tier wage system, the conversion of temporary workers to permanent, full-time status, and an increase in paid time off benefits.
“Temporary work has to be temporary,” said Fain. “We're going to end the abuse. Our fight to victory is a fight for every worker. We're also proposing increased paid time off, so we can spend more time enjoying life with our families and friends. Our members are working 60, 70, even 80 hours a week just to make ends meet. That's not a living. That's barely surviving, and it needs to stop.”
The address was just one example of how Fain intends to keep the membership involved in the negotiation process. He announced that the union’s contract proposal will be known as the “Members’ Demands” and that the entire national negotiating team will be at the table when economic demands are made.
“Historically, the biggest and most important demands in our union have been referred to as the ‘President's Demands,’” said Fain. “More often than not, they would be presented to the company by the president behind closed doors. Your elected national negotiators would be cut out of the conversation and cut out of the process.
“That was my experience as a national negotiator twice. I was incredibly frustrated to spend weeks bargaining with the company and subcommittees just to have the president's office come in later and cut a backroom deal without us bargaining. It's not a one-person show, so those days are gone.”