Mexican Media Brands
UAW Launches Labor Talks
The United Auto Workers union formally kicked off labor negotiations today for four-year labor contracts covering some 140,000 hourly workers at Big Three U.S. auto plants.
#labor #workforcedevelopment
Share
The United Auto Workers union formally kicked off labor negotiations today for four-year labor contracts covering some 140,000 hourly workers at Big Three U.S. auto plants.
Today’s handshakes at Ford will be followed by similar ceremonies tomorrow at General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Current agreements with the three companies will expire in mid-September.
UAW President Gary Jones says the union’s aim will be to “halt that race to the bottom” by stemming job losses, repatriating production to the U.S., protecting wages and limiting healthcare costs to its members. He has promised a significantly stronger and more vocal union stance against plant closures.
Analysts say the UAW’s goals will be tough to achieve in a U.S. market where sales are slowing and carmakers face the rising costs of developing connected, self-driving and electrification technologies.
The UAW also hopes to regain some of its clout after watching its membership shrink from 1.5 million workers in the late 1970s to roughly 400,000 today. The union has been unsuccessful in organizing any of the 18 major foreign-owned assembly plants operating across the South.
RELATED CONTENT
-
CEO Barra Steps into GM-UAW Talks
General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra met secretly with United Auto Workers union leaders yesterday afternoon, according to the New York Post, which first reported the event.
-
UPDATE: UAW, GM Reach Tentative Labor Deal
General Motors Co. and the United Auto Workers union have reached a possible deal on a new four-year labor contract covering some 48,000 of the union’s hourly workers in the U.S.
-
VW Workers Again Reject UAW at Tennessee Plant
Hourly workers at Volkswagen AG’s assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., have again voted against having the United Auto Workers union represent them.