UAW votes to allow strike as part of negotiations

Staff/wire report

DETROIT

The United Auto Workers union has scheduled deadlines for strike authorization votes at its General Motors and Fiat Chrysler locals as part of its national contract talks.

The union formally began negotiations with GM, Fiat Chrysler America and Ford in July in advance of the Sept. 14 expiration date of a four-year contract with all three automakers.

The votes are scheduled to take place at the UAW’s FCA locals across the country by Monday and at GM locals either on or by Aug. 27. It’s unclear whether a strike authorization deadline has been scheduled for Ford workers.

A number of UAW units, including those in Belvidere, Ill., Detroit, Toledo and Warren, Mich., already have completed their votes with an overwhelming majority of members voting in favor of the authorization.

A strike authorization vote is a normal part of the process for the UAW and does not necessarily signal the union’s intent to call a strike. A strike authorization vote by the union’s members gives the union’s leaders the ability to call a strike if contract talks stall or hit an impasse.

The UAW represents about 141,000 workers at the three automakers, including 50,300 at General Motors and 39,000 at FCA.

“The strike vote is part of the UAW’s democratic process that occurs every contract year,” GM spokeswoman Katie McBride said in a statement. “We remain committed to working with our UAW partners on an agreement that benefits employees and strengthens GM’s long-term competitiveness.”

UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell sent a letter dated July 22 to all of the FCA locals with instructions on when to take the strike vote, which was just eight days after contract talks formally began. The timing of the instructions to the UAW’s Fiat Chrysler units suggests Jewell wanted to obtain strike authority up front, rather than after hitting actual disagreements during negotiations.

Both local UAWs at the GM Lordstown Assembly Plant, where about 4,500 work to build the best-selling Chevrolet Cruze, will vote later this week.

“I think that at this time we have to come together and come up with what is best for everyone,” said Robert Morales, head of UAW Local 1714. “I think a strike would be a last resort.”

Morales explained that this vote is nothing new, and is a requirement.

“It is our wish that we never have to use it,” said Glenn Johnson, head of Local 1112. “I think there is an avenue for us to reach a win-win for both [GM and the UAW].”

This year is the first year since 2007 that the UAW has the right to call a strike against GM and FCA. In 2009, when GM and Chrysler declared bankruptcy, the UAW agreed to forgo its right to strike during its 2011 contract talks.

The UAW did, however, authorize a strike against Ford in 2011 but did not use that authority.

While the UAW hasn’t called a national strike since it hit an impasse with Ford in 1976, the union did conduct a limited two-day strike in 2007 at some GM plants and a limited one-day strike against Chrysler in 2007 before reaching tentative contracts.

Still, UAW contract talks with the Detroit Three could easily become contentious this year. Longtime UAW workers haven’t received a base wage increase in 10 years and many UAW members continue to be unhappy about a two-tier wage system that pays newer workers less money and provides no pathway to the top wage.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Three are making the biggest profits in years, especially in North America, and industry sales of new cars and trucks are expected to top 17 million for the first time since before the recession.