UAW members roundly authorize strike: 97% vote in favor
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The United Auto Workers union has nearly unanimously voted to approve a strike authorization for union leaders to take to the Big Three automakers.
According to a press release from the UAW, 97% of its 150,000 union workers at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis have voted in favor of authorizing a strike. Final votes are still being counted.
With the approval, this does not mean a strike will be called – only that the union has the right to call a strike if the Big Three refuse to reach a ‘fair deal’, according to the UAW. Union President Shawn Fain encouraged members to vote in favor of a strike last earlier this month.
"Our union’s membership is clearly fed up with living paycheck-to-paycheck while the corporate elite and billionaire class continue to make out like bandits," said UAW President Fain. "The Big Three have been breaking the bank while we have been breaking our backs."
The UAW is demanding the elimination of tiered wages and benefits, wage increases to offset inflation and match the generous salary increases of company executives over the last four years, the re-establishment of cost-of-living allowances and defined benefit pensions and retiree healthcare, the right to strike over plant closures, significant increases to current retiree benefits, and more paid time off.
The UAW has been pushing for a 46 percent wage hike over four years - with 20 percent of that coming upfront, blaming inflation.
The approval is not a surprise. The Associated Press reported earlier this month that workers were going to authorize the strike.
In a release from GM and Stellantis on Aug. 15, the automakers said conversations were constructive and they had been working hard to get an agreement in place.
The vote passed at GM with 96% in favor, Ford had 98% in favor by hourly workers and 99% from salaried workers, and 95% authorization from Stellantis employees.
The union’s contracts with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis expire in about a month, at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14.
Strike authorization votes are a routine part of contract talks and are often overwhelmingly approved.