“This is a major breakthrough for us, not only in negotiations but for the future of our union and the industry,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a video to members.
Stock traders also seemed to think it sounded good as shares of the three auto giants rose on Friday on expectations that the strike may be about to end.
Fain, wearing an “Eat the rich” t-shirt, claims negotiations with GM, Ford and Stellanti’s Jeep are moving forward. The strike began in mid-September and has since expanded to include 25,000 of the 146,000 union members at the three manufacturers.
The strike is unusual in that it is happening at the same time among the three, but the UAW has mitigated the effects somewhat by not walking out members at factories that assemble the most expensive, popular and profitable cars — big pickups and large SUVs.
A side demand is that the employees at ten planned battery factories for electric cars must be covered by the UAW’s agreement, which GM has now agreed to for its four of the ten.
The main demands are about increased wages and the initial offer was upwards of 40 percent in total calculated over four years, but has been lowered somewhat. The justification has been that it is time for the employees, not just shareholders and company management, to share in the profits at a time when inflation is thinning the wage envelope.
Ford has raised its bid from 9 to 23 percent, while the other two are said to be offering around 20 percent in four years.