It started at midnight last Thursday: Thousands of workers walked out of three auto factories in the American Midwest. The strike, which demanded nearly 40 percent of wages, spread over the next four years, putting President Joe Biden in a difficult position.
“We’re using a new strategy,” United Auto Workers (UAW) union president Shawn Fine said Friday morning. The union has selected three plants from three major manufacturers operating in the United States: a Jeep plant of the Stellandis Group in Ohio, a General Motors (GM) plant in Minnesota, and a Ford plant in Michigan, not far from Detroit.
An unprecedented offer
The choice of locations is a sophisticated strategy: relatively profitable fuel models are made. There are total AP news agency reported Approximately 13,000 workers are off the job, roughly 10 percent of all UAW members.
The strikes have received a great deal of attention in the United States. In recent years, unions have accepted a lot of money from manufacturers because they were in poor financial condition. But now again the profits are in crores. And, according to the UAW, the 40 percent wage demand is a reflection of the same wage increase at the top three companies.
So far the two sides have not come together in talks. GM, for example, said it was offering a 20 percent raise, an “unprecedented” offer, CEO Mary Barra said in a company video. No details are known about negotiating positions for the other two companies.
A dilemma for Biden
President Joe Biden has now joined the debate, revealing the staff’s side. According to Biden, “record corporate profits” mean “record deals” must be completed. The President himself has sent two representatives to factories on behalf of the White House to talk to unions and companies.
A strike is generally explained A major embarrassment for Biden. On the one hand, he needs the votes of auto workers in future elections, always presenting himself as a union leader. Michigan, home to two striking factories, is particularly important to his re-election bid. On the other hand, there are serious risks of rising car prices and the economic consequences of long-term, large-scale strikes — which quickly reflect badly on a president. Ford laid off 600 people on Friday, a direct result of strikes elsewhere in the company.
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Underlying this predicament is a second, perhaps more important, problem for Biden. In addition to higher wages, the unions are demanding that workers at all types of new battery factories and electric car factories be allowed to represent themselves. So far, these are outside the responsibility of the UAW. In fact, many car brands, including the European Volkswagen, South America was chosen as a destination For new power based industries. There, labor laws are less stringent and unions are less able to operate.
For Biden, a president committed to greening both the auto industry and the workforce, it’s a difficult dilemma. Major car brands, for their part, have already indicated that wage increases will make the costly transition to electric driving more difficult. “Make no mistake,” Parra said in the aforementioned video message. “If we don’t continue to invest, we will lose ground, and that will happen quickly. No one wins with a strike.”
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