Auto workers vote overwhelmingly to let union leaders call strikes against Detroit companies
Auto workers have voted overwhelmingly to give union leaders the authority to call strikes against Detroit car companies if a contract agreement isn’t reached
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Auto workers have voted overwhelmingly to give union leaders the authority to call strikes against Detroit car companies if a contract agreement isn't reached.
The United Auto Workers union said Friday that 97% have voted in favor of authorizing one or more strikes against Stellantis, General Motors and Ford. Such votes are almost always approved by large margins.
Contracts between the union representing about 146,000 workers at Stellantis, General Motors and Ford expire at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14. Fain said earlier this week that negotiations with the companies are not progressing fast enough. But he also said a strike is not inevitable.
Contract talks with the Detroit Three began in July, but Fain has consistently said the companies aren't bargaining seriously.
In a statement Friday, the UAW said the vote does not guarantee that a strike will be called.
Fain told members on Facebook Live Friday that the union still hasn't picked a target company for a strike and could walk out against all three. “Things could always shift in bargaining if something miraculous happened with one of the companies, it could change," he said. “We want contracts by Sept. 14 with all three.”
The companies have said they're bargaining in good faith at a time of unprecedented change in the auto business. The industry is spending billions to make the transition from internal combustion engines to battery power to cut pollution and fight climate change.
Stellantis, which has drawn much of Fain's ire in recent weeks, said Friday that negotiations “continue to be
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