LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said during his latest Facebook Live that progress is being made in negotiations with General Motors and Stellantis, but are stagnating with Ford.
Fain signaled there was forward momentum in contract negotiations with GM and Stellantis, citing “serious movement” since Thursday. Despite his optimism with two of the Big Three, Fain said talks with Ford have been stalling.
Fain was particularly critical of recent statements made by Ford executive chairman William Clay Ford Jr., who called for UAW to end the strike and said the union should side with Ford in a battle against foreign automakers.
“The money is there, they just don’t want us to have it,” Fain said.
GM beefed up its latest contract offer to UAW on Friday afternoon, which includes $40.39 hourly wages and a reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustment raises for many employees. GM previously agreed to have UAW provide the labor for plants that will produce batteries for electric vehicles.
While Fain acknowledged the advancements being made in talks with GM, he was clear that it would not be enough for UAW to come to the table.
“We agree that these are already record contracts, but they come at the end of decades of record decline. So, it’s not enough to be the best ever when autoworkers have gone backward over the past two decades. That’s a very low bar,” Fain said.
“I also find it a pathetic irony that every time they make an offer, it’s the best they can do, it’s a ‘record offer,’ and then two days later, there’s a new record. What that should tell you is, there’s room to move,” Fain added.
Though Fain did not explicitly announce any expansions to the strike, he told union workers to “be ready and stay ready to stand up.” He previously announced that UAW strike expansions may come without warning, and will no longer be formally announced on a weekly basis.
Fain also used the latest Facebook Live to show support for striking workers at Blue Cross Blue Shield, Detroit casinos and Mack Trucks, and congratulated workers at the ZF plant in Alabama for securing a new contract on Thursday.
He also praised UAW members at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, who he said joined the strike “on a moment’s notice.”