The words that Shaw Fain spoke at midnight and that framed an instant for the annals of the United States. "The money is there. The cause is just and the world is watching. The United Auto Workers is ready for the fight."
Thus, in an online broadcast, the president of the UAW, the auto industry workers' union, pointed to this historic moment. "This is our decisive moment", he added. In the 88 years of existence of this organization, the employees of the three big companies in Detroit, the so-called Big Three of the cars composed of Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) had never declared on joint strike, something never seen before in the US, to demand better wages.
The starting point took place at zero hours on Friday, once the contract valid until Thursday expired.
The pressure move, which sent the Dow Jones index into the red, comes after wages stagnated in recent years after the industry was bailed out by the Great Recession. and, above all, compared to the record profits that these firms currently achieve.
The UAW is demanding an increase of 36% to 40% of its salaries in the next four years. It is not a crazy number, but it is in line with the increase in remuneration of its managers, although there is a difference of several zeroes between them. Mary Barra, GM's chief executive, defended her pay of $29 million in 2022, a 34% increase from four years ago. Barra argued that 92% of his compensation consists of company shares that fluctuate with finances and are therefore not "pure" salary.
His argument caused outrage among the wage earners, who did not lead a wild protest. It is selective and has specific goals. 12,700 employees out of a total of 150,000 workers have quit. It affects three plants: Ford's Wayne (Michigan); GM's Wantzville (Missouri); and Toledo (Ohio), from Stellantis. Fain warned that it is the beginning and that the strike will spread like an oil slick if there is no agreement.
President Joe Biden, a champion of unions, appeared to urge negotiation and make something clear. "The car companies have seen record profits due to the sacrifice of the workers", he said. "These benefits, in my view, have not been shared fairly with the employees", he clarified.
