UAW strike decision day comes as bargaining heats up
By Joseph White
DETROIT (Reuters) — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is scheduled to say later on Friday whether recent intensified bargaining with the Detroit Three automakers has produced enough progress to forestall more walkouts.
A video address by Fain is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) and will cover substantive bargaining updates, people familiar with the UAW's plans said. That timing is a departure from the previous two Fridays in which Fain addressed union members at about 10 a.m. Detroit time (1400 GMT), and ordered walkouts at additional Detroit Three factories to start at noon.
Fain kept automakers guessing with a social media post on Thursday afternoon that showed an image of three men in suits, their faces obscured by the logos of the Detroit automakers, standing in front of a table with roses on it. «Tune into @UAW's Facebook (NASDAQ:META) page at 2pm on Friday, October 6th to see who gets the rose!» Fain tweeted, a reference to the television reality show «The Bachelorette,» in which the week's winners get a rose.
In the UAW version, the winner offers richer contract terms, and gets a week without a new strike.
People familiar with the bargaining among the UAW and Detroit automakers General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and Chrysler parent Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) said talks have heated up this week after days of little movement.
Ford, GM and Stellantis have made new proposals in an effort to end the escalating cycle of walkouts that threaten to undercut profits and cripple smaller suppliers already strained from months of production cuts forced by semiconductor shortages.
The pressure is rising on the three automakers as EV market leader Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) cut U.S. prices of its
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