Negotiations continue between the Detroit Three automakers and the United Auto Workers on the fifth day of a targeted plant strike, with the fallout spreading to two suppliers of Stellantis NV’s Toledo Jeep plant.
Bruce Baumhower, president of Local 12 that represents the Stellantis workers in Toledo, said around 600 workers at Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd. and Kuka AG were laid off when production halted and will receive $500 per week in strike pay, because those operations are within the confines of the Jeep plant complex.
The Hyundai Mobis workers build chassis for the Jeeps and Kuka workers build Gladiator bodies. “The two companies are inside the Jeep plant,” he said. “Their employees are getting strike pay, but they are not allowed to strike.”
More than 1,000 workers at another 10 suppliers, Baumhower said, also have been laid off and are expected to receive unemployment benefits, with the amount depending on the number of dependents a person has.
Bill Teets, spokesperson for Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services, said in a statement that each unemployment claim will be decided based on its specific circumstances.
The ramifications from the UAW’s strike have been felt among other suppliers too, including CIE Newcor, a contract manufacturer that last week notified the state of plans to temporarily lay off 293 workers at facilities in Shiawassee and Lapeer counties.
The UAW strike could spread to more plants Friday.
In a video released late Monday, UAW President Shawn Fain said if the union doesn’t see “serious progress” in negotiations with Ford Motor Co., Stellantis NV and General Motors Co., it will send out more union members, halting production at additional facilities.
“Autoworkers have waited long enough to make things right at the Big Three,” Fain said in the Monday video, which ran over five minutes. “We’re not waiting around. And we’re not messing around. So noon on Friday, Sept. 22 is new a deadline. Either the Big Three get down to business and work with us to make progress in negotiations or more locals will be called on to stand up and go out to strike.”
The additional walkouts would come one week after Fain called on 12,700 workers at three separate Detroit automaker facilities to strike. Those workers at Stellantis’ Toledo Jeep plant, Ford’s Michigan Assembly in Wayne and GM’s Wentzville Assembly in Missouri have been walking picket lines while negotiations continue since their contracts expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
Mark Stewart, Stellantis’ chief operating officer in North America, told WWJ-AM (950) on Tuesday that the company is continuing to work with the union on 401(k) contributions, including annuity options, and finding a solution for the idled Jeep Cherokee plant in Belvidere, Illinois.
Stellantis’ most recent offer included more than $1 billion toward retirement benefits for current employees and retirees. The union’s position, however, has been to seek pensions and retirement health-care coverage for all workers.
“We feel it’s a very, very competitive offer. That is an offer, as well, that allows us to be competitive in the market with our customers that will be cross-shopping others who have a different cost structure,” Stewart said. “We’re diligently at the table. We want solutions. We want to resolve this quickly.”
Meanwhile, Unifor, the union representing Detroit Three autoworkers in Canada, has extended talks 24 hours after the expiration of its contract with Ford at 11:59 p.m. Monday. Unifor instructed Ford members to remain at work unless they receive alternate instructions from the union.
“Unifor is extending negotiations with Ford Motor Company for a 24-hour period,” the union said in a statement sent about 1:40 a.m. Tuesday. “The union received a substantive offer from the employer minutes before the deadline.”
Unifor President Lana Payne on Monday said if the union does strike Ford, all of its members at the Dearborn automaker would go on strike, potentially causing disruption of the company’s production in the United States and of the supply chain.
Each job that Stellantis has represents four or five jobs in the supply base, Stewart said, plus more in the local communities. Stewart also addressed the inclusion of Stellantis’ North American headquarters and technical center as a part of 18 sites it has requested the right to sell or close in an agreement with the UAW.
“One of the things we covered through that was a series of facilities that that we were looking to downsize or reconfigure as part of the process,” he said. “And specifically here in Auburn Hills, this is our North America headquarters. It will be our North America headquarters. But like everyone, in the hybrid-working environment and looking at our overall footprint across across the region, and specifically in the U.S., we have a lot of the building here in Auburn Hills that we’re not utilizing today.
“So, we’re looking at other use cases for that. We’re certainly not leaving this footprint in any shape, form or fashion, but the areas we’re not using, we’re looking at some different repurposing for those.”
khall@detroitnews.com
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