Labor Unrest Rippling Through Auto Industry - The Detroit Bureau

Labor Unrest Rippling Through Auto Industry – The Detroit Bureau

Time Stamp: June 19, 2023 2:31 PM
Source Node: 2734008

Workers at an Ohio plant supplying batteries to General Motors, Ford and Stellantis are heading back to work this week, ending a 41-day strike. However, more labor unrest hovers over the industry.

Clarios UAW strikers 2023
UAW Local 12 workers reached a new deal after a 41-day strike, showing the union’s commitment to a more militant approach.

The three-year contract covering the 500 workers at the Clarios International plant near Toledo, Ohio includes a $3,500 signing bonus, a 3% raise each year totaling 9% spanning the life of the contract and a resolution to a scheduling problem that saw part of the plant working 12-hour days without overtime pay beyond eight hours, said UAW Local 12 President Bruce Baumhower.

“I’m glad it all got resolved,” Baumhower told a local television station in Toledo, Ohio. “It was tough on our guys and the company. We’ve never had this before (but) we’re back in the saddle.” 

“We are pleased that our represented employees ratified the agreement today. Our goal was, and is, to create an agreement that increases wages and provides work-life balance,” the company said in a statement. “The new contract includes a wage increase, a modern, flexible work schedule, and a significant ratification bonus. 

“We look forward to bringing our employees back to work beginning Sunday evening. We welcome our valued employees back as we continue to advance our mission of making the world’s best batteries.” 

Second agreement reached with supplier

The UAW also reached a tentative agreement in separate strike at Constellium Automotive in suburban Detroit where 160 workers have staged a monthlong strike. The plant supplies parts for the Ford F-150, F-150 Lightning, Explorer and Super Duty at six UAW-represented Ford assembly plants, according to the UAW, which said workers wanted health and safety issues addressed.

UAW Clarios strikers two
The new deal with Clarios covers three years and 500 workers.

A separate labor dispute along the West Coast, which was on the verge of disrupting the auto industry’s fragile supply chains reaching back to East and Southeast Asia.

The Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced a tentative agreement, pending ratification, on a new six-year contract covering workers at all 29 West Coast ports. 

The deal was reached with assistance from Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su, marking the second time in past six months the Biden administration jumped in to smooth out disputes involving supply chains. In December, the administration stepped in to ease the strike threat by rail unions.

The two sides aren’t releasing detail of the agreement, which is subject to ratification by both parties. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that recognizes the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the ILWU workforce in keeping our ports operating,” said PMA President James McKenna and ILWU President Willie Adams in a joint statement. “We are also pleased to turn our full attention back to the operation of the West Coast Ports.”

Industry still faces potential disruptions

Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters employed by United Parcel Service voted overwhelmingly to strike July 31 if there is no settlement in contract negotiations now underway between the union and UPS.

Shawn Fain town hall call 5-23
UAW President Shawn Fain just reiterated his intentions to push the Detroit Three automakers for a more worker-friendly deal this fall.

The dispute between the Teamsters and UPS has been building for months. Sean O’Brien, who, in 2022 replaced Jimmy Hoffa Jr. as Teamsters president, ran on a platform vowing to reverse the concessions to UPS, which employs 340,000 Teamsters.

“This vote shows that hundreds of thousands of Teamsters are united and determined to get the best contract in our history at UPS. If this multibillion-dollar corporation fails to deliver on the contract that our hardworking members deserve, UPS will be striking itself,” said O’Brien after the strike vote was tallied. “The strongest leverage our members have is their labor and they are prepared to withhold it to ensure UPS acts accordingly.”

UAW President Sean Fain, recently elected himself, proclaimed he intends to align the auto union’s fight for new contracts at GM, Ford and Stellantis this fall with the Teamsters at UPS to build what he describes “working-class” power as part of a wider effort to reverse the decline of unions and to improve the wages and working conditions of workers throughout the economy.

During a Facebook live session last week, Fain re-iterated Detroit automakers can afford new contracts that improve wages, eliminate the “tiered” wage structure that has prevailed in the industry since 2007 and recover concessions made when Detroit automakers were facing bankruptcy. He also added he would like to see Juneteenth added to the union’s schedule of paid holidays.

Fain also said all workers deserve more respect and better working conditions, including work schedules that value their time. “The most valuable thing we have is time. Every human being’s time should matter, and they should be compensated for that,” he added.

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