At midnight sharp (six in the morning in Italy) a chorus of horns at the entrance to the factory in Toledo, Ohio, where Jeep Wranglers are assembled greeted thestart of the strike blue overalls. Today, not a single Jeep will leave the Stellantis plant. The same will happen in Detroit in the factory where they are assembled the Ford-branded Broncos and in Missouri, IN GM plant dedicated to pick ups. The first day of US auto strike involved 12.700 workers, the first to experiment with the chessboard stop strategy that the Uaw union, with 146 thousand members, adopted to weaken the resistance of the big three in what promises to be the mother of all battles both for fate of the car industry in full transition towards electric and for US politics, now in full electoral tussle.
The union has chosen a hard line for the US auto strike
The union, profoundly renewed after the scandals, immediately chose the hard line to support requests that the same leader Shawn Fain described it as “very aggressive”. No handshake with the CEOs of Ford, GM and Stellantis or even the hugs and pats on the back of the Marchionne season, when unions and companies had to fight to survive in the heart of the crisis. Today, accuses the Uaw, the three houses are bursting with profits and the CEOs travel with salaries around 20 million dollars. No more discounts, then. And what a tough fight it is. For the first time, instead of facing the Big 3 at different times, theUaw has decided to do battle against the three Detroit houses simultaneously. But we will proceed with intermittent strikes announced at the last moment, plant by plant, with the aim of maximize damages for builders and reduce the impact on payroll. And thus make the treasure of 825 million dollars set aside to support the strikes last as long as possible.
US car strike: the demands of the Uaw union
Therefore, fight to the bitter end to support the salary demands (+40% for the duration of the entire four-year contract) the reduction of working hours to 32 hours a week, as well as a variety of social security requests and onhealth care. Ford, GM and Stellantis claim to have made realistic counterproposals (more or less 20% more on payroll) without ever receiving a response. But, beyond the salary aspect, The very future of the auto industry is up for grabs. The union asks to be allowed manage redundancies that will emerge in the transition from the combustion engine to electric, And in that context it asks to be able enter battery factories set up in joint ventures with Asian manufacturers, where wages are lower and the presence of the union is not foreseen: in Ultium, the factory in Ohio owned equally by GM and the Koreans of LG, the hourly wage is 20 dollars, compared to the average of 32 in the others installations.
There is also a political side to the US auto strike
And here the dispute takes on a more political flavor. The Uaw accuses President Biden, who also defines himself as "the tenant of the White House historically closest to the union" for not having included in the IRA, the provision that establishes the benefits for the green car, articles to protect the rights trade unions. “He could certainly have done more” is the comment of Bob King, one of the leaders of the Uaw. And it is certainly no coincidence that the union has not yet expressed a position in view of the presidential campaign: four years ago there were quite a few blue collars who voted for Donald Trump.
What impact will the US auto strikes have on GDP?
But what will be the impact of the strikes on the economy? Ten days of blackout entails a loss of 5,7 billion dollars in terms of GDP. For the 3 houses the cost should be around 989 million dollars, taking into account the disposal of inventories. But also the impact on the rest of the component supply chain. For the workers the drain would be heavy, no less than 850 million dollars. And Michigan's economy will end up in recession. The Uaw, however, is confident that the wall of the Big 3 is destined to give way, confirming that the climate is changing, forty years after Reagan's victory against the air traffic controllers that started the decline of the Unions.
At the beginning of the week i restaurant waiters they signed the contract in California which provides for a minimum of 20 dollars an hour. UPS truck drivers got big raises and workplace improvements last month. AND Jeff Bezos, which continues to fight against the union in Amazon warehouses, has decided to play in advance by allocating 440 million dollars in the budget against the increases that the e-commerce giant will propose next year to avoid the arrival of the union. The Detroit dispute, therefore, has the flavor of a dress rehearsal for the US economy. And not only.
