New UAW President Shawn Fain, in a wide-ranging talk Friday, discussed the need to secure better wages at vehicle battery plants, a fractured relationship with one automaker in particular and the necessity for the union to be seen once again as a leader in the fight for worker benefits. He also committed to running for reelection when the time comes.
Fain, who was sworn in just last month following the United Auto Workers’ first direct election of top leaders, answered questions from journalists and others in an Automotive Press Association “fireside chat” moderated by WWJ-AM reporter Jeff Gilbert. He sat for the interview, which was handled via Zoom, at the union’s Solidarity House headquarters in Detroit.
The discussion came as the union gears up for contract talks later this year with Ford, General Motors and Jeep- and Chrysler-parent Stellantis that have already sparked speculation about the potential for a strike.
The hourlong talk hit many of the themes Fain has stressed in past discussions about the need for workers to get their “fair share” and for autoworkers to regain concessions they made during the auto industry’s darker days, but he offered more details and addressed some new topics as well, as he’s begun to settle into his new role.
In his comments, Fain was particularly critical of the way joint ventures have been introduced by the automakers, referencing those announced by Stellantis in Kokomo, Indiana, and General Motors in northeast Ohio, as they’ve sought to ramp up their transition to electric vehicle production. He said, for instance, that the wages are lower at the GM and LG Energy Solution Ultium Cells joint venture in Ohio compared with other auto production jobs even though the work is potentially dangerous and requires significant training.
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Automakers forming joint ventures for technological reasons is fine, Fain said, but they can’t be formed just to circumvent the commitments made to union members.
“There is no reason they can’t form a joint venture with us,” Fain said, pointing out that if a transmission plant were to close in a city like Kokomo that secured a battery plant, the higher number of adversely affected workers at the transmission plant would have “nowhere to fall.”
He was also critical of Ford’s decision to close its Romeo Engine Plant in Michigan, while opting to invest $11 billion in its EV projects in Tennessee and Kentucky.
The EV transformation is critical for the future of the industry and its workers, and the union expects its members not to “get lost in the transition,” Fain said, noting that jobs are needed “that raise people up, not take us back.”
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Fain said the union’s expectation for fair treatment of autoworkers has been conveyed during meetings with leadership at the Detroit Three. He noted critically, however, that one leader in particular, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, had not found the time to meet with the union.
“When the CEO of the company can fly over here and threaten members about future product and absenteeism but can’t take the time to reach out to us and have a discussion with us, that’s a problem,” Fain said.
The company’s decision announced in December to idle its Belvidere Assembly Plant, where the Jeep Cherokee had been made, has been a particular sore spot for the union.
Fain called the actions a “flat out black and white violation,” saying there should be plant closing moratoriums in place because of the language in the contracts with the automakers.
He said the relationship with Stellantis, which is based in the Netherlands and also owns the Ram, Dodge and Fiat brands, is fractured.
“When they take action like that that hurts our members, things aren’t going to be good, so that’s, I guess, as blunt as I can be about it, and we have been with all three,” Fain said.
He didn’t offer specifics on union strategy but indicated the union is prepared to be as aggressive as it feels it needs to be in upcoming negotiations and in other fights ahead, saying that corporations and their allies have been pursuing policies that hurt workers. He said that unions need to work together because of the global nature of corporations, and he said he’s already had conversations with Unifor National President Lana Payne. Unifor, which represents Canadian autoworkers, will also be bargaining with GM, Ford and Stellantis this year.
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“Every tool we have in the tool chest we’re going to use,” Fain said. “Our members expect their fair share and if they don’t get it, we’re going to do what we have to do.”
On a question that suggested the UAW would need to work with automakers to keep labor costs down in light of lower costs at plants that are not unionized, Fain pushed back: Wages, pensions and benefits represent a “small part of the cost of manufacturing,” he said, noting that “no one’s talking about CEOs” making tens of millions of dollars in compensation per year.
The chat came a little more than three weeks following the end of the UAW’s special bargaining convention in Detroit.
The convention was Fain’s first major public event as the new UAW president, following his election victory over Ray Curry. The contest in the runoff phase took weeks to decide because of counting delays prompted by challenged ballots. Fain’s campaign was powered by the frustration many members felt with the corruption scandal that sent former union leaders and auto executives to prison and by the belief the union needs to fight harder at the bargaining table.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.