With a targeted strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) passing the one week mark, talks with Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors seemingly haven’t progressed much, with the sides remaining far apart on a couple of key issues including pay raises and the potential elimination of wage tiers. At the same time, both sides have called each other out in a public manner, with the UAW accusing the Detroit Big Three automakers of “corporate greed,” though Ford issued its own response to those allegations claiming the union’s numbers were inaccurate. Now, hours before the UAW plans to walk out of additional plants if talks don’t make “substantial” progress, leaked messages have surfaced that suggest the union might be bargaining in bad faith, according to The Detroit News.
In a series of messages recently obtained from the news source via a private chat on the social media platform X, a close aide to UAW Shawn Fain said that negotiators aren’t using bargaining sessions with automakers to try and make progress toward a new deal, but rather, inflict “recurring reputations damage and operational chaos” on all three automakers. “If we can keep them wounded for months they don’t know what to do,” one message reads. “The beauty is we’ve laid it all out in the public and they’re still helpless to stop it.”
“And creating compression points of national attention for them to do the right thing is way different than just waiting for a month for the next offer,” Jonah Furman, UAW communications director, reportedly said. “Plus, we’’e breaking pattern and they’re bargaining against each other for the first time in 70 years. And we can calibrate it exactly to their moves at the table. If Ford and GM won’t move, but Stellantis will, we can spare them.” When asked to comment on the messages, Furman said that they’re “private messages” that “you shouldn’t have.” Later, in the private chat group, he said “Someone leaked my remarks in here to the business press. I’m out.”
“It’s disappointing, to say the least, given what is at stake for our employees, the companies, and this region,” said Ford’s chief communications officer, Mark Truby, in a response to the leaked remarks. “For our part, we will continue to work day and night, bargaining in good faith, to reach an agreement that rewards our workforce and allows Ford to invest in a vibrant and growing future.”
We’ll have more on the UAW strike soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more 2023 Ford-UAW news, UAW news, and ongoing Ford news coverage.
Comments
I’ve never believed unions to operate any other way. Self-absorbed to the nth degree.
Unions are popular across the country. They are not perfect by any means, but they do look out for their members. I would look at corporate and management as being self absorbed if anything else.
They do not look out for their members, they look out only for some members. I dropped mine because they did give a crap about my work load and others like me, only theirs and selected others. Plus they spent 60% of my dues on politics i don’t support that do not directly relate to our field.
“Popular” might not be the right word. “Common” is probably what you meant. Many people are forced to join the union if they want to work for certain companies. That just shows you where their heads are at.
They are not only selfish, they are dangerous.
There’s nothing dangerous about getting better benefits and more money to take care of my family. Especially when corporations are posting major profits and can afford to help their employees more.
I wonder what Mr. UAW’s defense will be about yet another UAW corruption? What spin will he create to excuse all this? lol!!
There is no spin. Both sides are stubborn. Just because I may favor the union side more doesn’t mean that I agree with 100% of what our leadership is doing. I think it’s clever and smart since Ford negotiations have come a long way since their first “generous” offer. But that’s the point. Not to get everything, but as much as we can. Honestly, I want to see if any raises are on the table from Fords latest offer. I would probably vote yes on it.
So, isn’t the whole.point of a strike to cause operational chaos? Like, it’s literally people not going to work to grind things to a halt to try to strong arm concessions out. Not sure how this is news, that’s literally how a strike works.
These UAW guys are being much shrewder than they have been in the past. But I wonder if this is a case of winning the battle but losing the war? I think the UAW is using very good short-term tactics to maximize leverage and exact as much $$ out of the Big 3 as possible. However, this will be a wake-up call to the Big 3 that they need to get rid of their unionized labor by any means necessary. This will be a watershed moment in the elimination of unions at the Big 3.
Well, the thing is, the UAW isn’t going anywhere. Right to work in Michigan was appealed earlier this year and will take effect early next year. If anything, unionism and its popularity is growing. Sorry you feel differently.
Repealed***** autocorrect fail
Those plants of the future don’t have to stay in Michigan, and neither do Ford or GM. My prediction is that the current situation will breed animosity and that future plants will be moving to the South or farther south (Mexico).
Good way to get US jobs exported to Mexico
Every vehicle I have owned was build by the UAW or by Unifor (Canadian UAW). My current UAW assembled vehicle will be my last UAW assembled vehicle. I recently read that after WWII about 95% of auto related jobs were unionized. It is now down to 5%. The UAW expects the vehicle buying public to subsidize their members. More more subsidies from this guy! I think I will by a German car next time.
Interestingly these ‘union leaders’ get paid in full while their members are out on strike pay. And their timing is a little off – dealer lots are full for the most part.
Would like to see the internal communications of the Big 3…this is typical bargaining scrimmaging, been this way for yrs on BOTH SIDES. It’s really simple look at how the manufacturers have raised prices regardless of labor cost. The Big 3 have raped consumers and are not going to lower the msrp’s of vehicles regardless. The workers deserve their share, absolutely no reason a company should reap those kinds of record profits and not share them with the workers.
So, increases in parts and materials don’t impact the cost of vehicles? It’s only labour? All this leak does is reveal what everyone already knows … the UAW and the manufacturers are adversaries, not partners. Quit pretending anything else.
Well I actually work on the assembly line at Ford Truck Plant in Louisville Kentucky and I know for sure myself and everyone on my team preforms each and every job with a standard of excellence to make sure that the truck we build is flawless. We are all UAW members and we are the actual manufacturers. I say that to say this: we are not adversaries, and we are partners none of us are pretending to be anything else. Why don’t you come in the plant and try to do my job for 30 minutes. I guarantee that you could not do it.
The cost of labor to manufacture one vehicle is 5%
Ford Authority, an anti-labor company mouthpiece, printed this fabricated narrative in bad faith.
Note how the portion of “private messages” were intentionally taken out of context and given new context to create a narrative that doesn’t exist.
A few ignorant Ford fans we will be duped. Most will see through this farce.
Mary Barra’s of GM. total compensation compared to the median income of all GM employees’ total compensation is 362 to 1. That’s right $361 for ever $1 a worker makes. How many years would it take the hourly worker to make what Mary Barra make in one year ? It would take an hourly GM worker about 362 years to make what the GM CEO made in one year.
Sounds fair !
Maybe they should have gone to college. CEO salaries aren’t outrageous. Total compensation is tied to company profitability.
I hear Soviet Union calling….