UAW strike: General Motors CEO blasts union president over negotiations
Rachel Schilke
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General Motors CEO Mary Barra slammed United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain for wanting to make “history for himself” at the expense of the industry and its workers as the strike entered its 14th day on Friday.
The UAW announced an expansion of strike to one additional assembly plant each at Ford and General Motors. The two auto manufacturers, in addition to Stellantis, are the “Big Three” companies engaged in negotiations with the union over increased pay.
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Union members at Ford’s Chicago Assembly plant and GM’s Lansing Delta Township assembly plant in Michigan went on strike at noon on Friday. With those additional 7,000 members picking up picket signs, the total number of striking UAW members across all three automakers will reach over 25,000.
Barra said in a statement about the negotiations that UAW leadership continues to “expand the strike while upping the rhetoric and the theatrics.”
“It’s clear that there is no real intent to get to an agreement,” Barra said, adding that General Motors has offered a “record contract” with “record wage increases” and other benefits.
“It’s an offer that rewards our team members but does not put our company and their jobs at risk. Jeopardizing our future is something I will not do,” Barra continued.
UAW has asked for a 36% pay increase, while the manufacturers have offered roughly half of that. There are no signs the strike will end any time soon, with both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump meeting with autoworkers and union members this week in Detroit.
Barra accused Fain and other UAW leaders of dragging their members into a “long, unnecessary strike to further their own personal and political agendas.” She called on UAW leaders to come to the table and reach an agreement “now.”
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“It is clear Shawn Fain wants to make history for himself, but it can’t be to the detriment of our represented team members and the industry,” Barra said. “Serious bargaining happens at the table, not in public, with two parties who are willing to roll up their sleeves to get a deal done. The UAW is pitting the companies against one another, but it’s a strategy that ultimately only helps the non-union competition.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to UAW Media for comment.