The social movement in the American automobile sector acquired a new dimension on Friday, with an increase in the affected places and the announcement of an upcoming visit by President Joe Biden on a strike picket, to try to weaken Donald Trump.
The Democratic president, who defines himself as the main defender of American unions and who had also been invited to make such a gesture, will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to participate in a picket, as a sign of “solidarity.” “It’s time to reach a win-win agreement” between automakers and the UAW union, Joe Biden said in a message on X (formerly Twitter).
The 80-year-old Democrat has already publicly estimated on several occasions that manufacturers should pass on their “record profits” to employees. He had so far planned to spend the next week on a trip to the West. But the opportunity is too good to disappoint his great rival Donald Trump, who also wants to be the champion of working and popular circles.
In fact, the former Republican president, favorite in his party’s primaries for the 2024 presidential election, was scheduled to picket on Wednesday. And also in Michigan, an electorally key state. Enough to suddenly politicize a social movement that was clearly amplified on Friday.
“Don’t wait for eternity”
The strike spread to American automakers General Motors and Stellantis, due to a lack of progress in union negotiations, unlike Ford, where “real progress” has been made. Since Friday, the 38 spare parts distribution centers of these two manufacturers have been affected.
“We are not going to wait forever to obtain fair contracts from the ‘Big Three’, nickname for the three large American manufacturers, Shawn Fain, president of the powerful UAW union, launched in a video. These sites, located in twenty US states, employ about 5,600 UAW members of the 146,000 who work for the three giants in Detroit, Michigan.
The three factories on strike since Sept. 15 will remain on strike, Shawn Fain said. These three sites – one for each of the “Big Three” – employ about 12,700 UAW members. This is the first strike that affects all three groups at the same time. “We invite and encourage anyone who supports our cause to join us on the picket line, from friends and family to the president of the United States,” said Shawn Fain.
“Many actions”
For the moment, the economic impact has been limited, but the extension of the movement in Stellantis and GM runs the risk of having greater repercussions, because these centers supply workshops and dealers with spare parts for vehicles already sold, directly affecting the general public. . And “they generate significant benefits, particularly for Stellantis,” Shawn Fain noted on CNBC, adding that the union was considering “many possible actions” for the future.
Each of the strikers receives $500 a week from the union’s welfare fund instead of their usual salary. General Motors, which has 18 other sites affected, accused UAW leaders of “manipulating the negotiating process for their own benefit.” Same accusation from Stellantis, who “wonders if they ever intended to reach an agreement in time.”
Regarding Ford, Shawn Fain noted a “serious desire to reach an agreement,” even if “serious problems” remain. The union demands in particular a salary increase of 40% in four years, equivalent to what the group’s leaders have benefited in the last four years.
Source: BFM TV
