If it wasn’t clear before contract talks opened this month between the UAW and Ford, General Motors and Stellantis that this round of negotiations would take a different tone than years past, a flurry of announcements in recent days sharing what happened during those initial meetings has made the point firmly.
United Auto Workers union leaders had pledged more transparency about the negotiations — and that approach is being used by the automakers, too, with all three either launching or saying they would launch websites that would include bargaining information. The union has its own bargaining web pages focused on each automaker, as well.
Several automaker and union leaders have also already issued memos or letters to the press, union officials and employees offering their takes so far. This move follows the union’s decision last week to ditch the traditional ceremonial handshake with company leaders in favor of a meet-and-greet members’ handshake outside the gates of three Detroit-area auto plants.
“Both sides realize that they have entered a new era of bargaining,” said Marick Masters, a business professor and labor expert at Wayne State University who cited changes in the union for the tone shift. “This is driven primarily by recent changes in the makeup of the leadership of the UAW due to the historic direct elections that took place a few months ago. Under Shawn Fain and his UAWD (Unite All Workers for Democracy) allies, the UAW has a much more bottom-up approach toward governance and bargaining. This requires more transparency and openness in terms of rank-and-file participation on an ongoing basis.
“The UAW seeks to galvanize the workers on a bargaining position that will yield sustainable improvements in contract terms.”
Masters, however, highlighted the challenges ahead for the union and the automakers.
“The issues at stake between the Detroit Three and the UAW are difficult and costly, and only a partial solution may be achievable through collective bargaining. Because of the political and public-policy significance of electrification, it may be necessary for government to aid the effort to find a longer-term solution through policies that subsidize wages and change labor laws to facilitate union organizing. This itself is a heavy lift, but clearly all parties are to varying degrees dependent on each other and government intervention for electrification … to succeed,” Masters said.
Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, also credited union leadership with fostering the change in this year’s contract talks, although he, too, noted negotiations will not be easy.
“One member, one vote democrat election and an all-for-one, we-are-in-it-together approach to end tiers and raise lower wages in parts/battery sectors, weekly Facebook Live updates to members and fielding questions is a departure from the past,” Wheaton said, referencing the election and campaign that elevated Fain and others running as reformers to the top ranks of the union.
The union started contract talks with Stellantis on July 13, Ford on July 14 and GM on July 18. The current contracts are in effect until 11:59 p.m., Sept. 14. The last contracts were negotiated in 2019 in a stretch that featured a 40-day strike against GM.
Here’s a rundown of the opening of contract talks based on what the UAW and automakers have released on their websites and to membership, as well as information from sources who are not authorized to speak publicly on negotiations:
Stellantis
Perhaps most notable about Stellantis talks was the willingness of the UAW to call out the leadership of the automaker, owner of Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat, over attendance and tardiness during that initial meeting on July 13 at the company’s CTC complex in Auburn Hills.
Fain, in his opening remarks, according to the union’s news release and bargaining website, noted the “pathetic irony in the fact that we were late in getting started today because the head of Stellantis North America, Mark Stewart, was late for our 10 a.m. start time, and Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares wants to constantly talk about absenteeism when it comes to our workers, yet Mr. Tavares can’t find the time to attend the beginning of the most critical set of bargaining in this company’s and our workers’ history.”
A source familiar with the talks told the Free Press that UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, who heads the union’s Stellantis department, in addition to Fain were among those who gave remarks during a meeting that lasted less than an hour. Tavares, as noted, did not attend. Stewart, as chief operating officer for Stellantis North America, also led talks for the company when it was Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2019.
The union provided its priorities to the company, but the company did not offer its own proposals. Fain and union leaders have talked publicly about the union’s desire to see a resumption of cost-of-living adjustments, to end wage tiers, to ensure job security and a just electric vehicle transition and to support retirees.
There was no handshake, in keeping with Fain’s comments about not shaking hands before an agreement is reached.
During his remarks, according to the union posting, Fain described his own 29-year history with Chrysler, a Stellantis predecessor, and his roots in the company through his grandfather hiring in, in 1937. Fain, who noted that the members’ hard work in recent years has generated record profits, also highlighted many of the issues that he and other union officials have expressed concern about, everything from work conditions and seven-day schedules to plant closures.
In a statement on the talks on July 14, Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said “our single most important priority is to negotiate a contract that is in the best interest of the company and our 43,000 represented employees, their families and our communities. We will not be distracted. We believe yesterday’s meeting with the UAW leadership team members went well and we intend on continuing to approach these discussions in a respectful manner.”
Stewart, in a letter to employees obtained by the Free Press, said the company is not seeking a concessionary contract “but we must focus on improving efficiency, productivity and unplanned absenteeism…” He said he’s confident the two sides can reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
Ford
Ford CEO Jim Farley and board chair Bill Ford met with Fain and Ford UAW vice president Chuck Browning in a large conference room on the second floor with a long table historically designated for contract negotiations at Ford’s world headquarters in Dearborn on July 14. The meeting included additional union and company representatives but the leadership of both sides did most of the talking. The information about the Ford talks comes from sources from both the automaker and the union who were not authorized to speak publicly on negotiations.
The UAW noted that things were beginning on a positive note because Ford, unlike Stellantis, did not arrive late for the appointed discussion. The UAW noted that the top people showed up. Bill Ford reminisced about participating in UAW talks since 1982, after joining the company in 1979. He spent 10 minutes or so sharing what the relationship with UAW leaders, as well as rank and file, meant to him personally. He acknowledged challenges but took a moment to cite worker improvements made outside of contract years, including the decision to move temporary workers into full-time status.
He emphasized a history of collaboration and a commitment to good will and negotiating a fair agreement that benefits all. (Bill Ford plays in the Ford hockey league with both salaried and hourly workers at the ice rink in Dearborn.) Farley talked about his grandfather’s legacy as a factory worker, showing a picture, and how factory work changed the trajectory of his family’s life. Farley echoed Bill Ford’s desire to problem solve together.
Fain shared his family’s longtime connection to Chrysler, their tie to organized labor and history. He showed a pay stub that he carries. Fain had multiple family members in the UAW and shared his personal motivations behind leading the union. He outlined priorities and views and stood strong about his commitment to his members. He was matter of fact about what the union was trying to accomplish and why. Browning was the last to speak, emphasizing there’s no reason a contract can’t be reached without a fight. But he made clear a strike isn’t inevitable but concerns must be met.
The Ford meeting lasted 75 minutes.
General Motors
The first meeting between the UAW and GM lasted under an hour July 18 at the Global Technical Center in Warren.
Fain, Vice President for the GM Department Mike Booth and other top negotiators boarded an elevator inside an engineering building and headed for the third floor at 8:55 a.m. They were at the table across from GM CEO Mary Barra, Executive Vice President for Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations Gerald Johnson and Mike Perez, GM’s vice president of labor relations at 9 a.m. sharp, people familiar with the meeting told the Detroit Free Press.Absent was GM President Mark Reuss, four people who were not authorized to speak publicly about negotiations confirmed.
The greetings were cordial, but, per Fain’s wishes, there was no opening handshake.
“It was not an adversarial meeting, but we didn’t shake hands,” said one person at the meeting who was not authorized to speak publicly about negotiations. “The company knew we weren’t going to do that, so they didn’t put anyone in an uncomfortable position. It was handled pretty well. Fain did exactly what he said he was going to do. He wasn’t rude. He was polite. He just didn’t want to shake their hands until we have an agreement.”
According to four people familiar with the meeting, Barra and Johnson each made short remarks but there was no start to actual bargaining. Barra’s remarks were similar to what she later posted on GM’s new negotiations update website, one person told the Free Press.
“We are proud of the robust total compensation and benefits package we provide to our team members, including a world-class healthcare plan, a profit-sharing program that just distributed the largest bonus payments ever to our employees, and career development and training opportunities,” Barra wrote. “We have a long history of negotiating fair contracts with the UAW that reward our employees and support the long-term success of our business. Our goal this time will be no different.”
One topic not mentioned: “The strike was not brought up,” said a union person who attended the meeting.
Booth, in a letter Tuesday to union shop chairs and local presidents, said Fain “spoke of the need to eliminate the wage progression, the responsibility of corporations to pay workers a living wage, the negative effects of plant closures, and the need for a just transition to electric vehicles.”
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Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.