WASHINGTON. The dialogue between striking workers in the US auto sector and the industry giants is in a “critical phase,” said Chrysler parent Stellantis, as political pressure increases in the face of a conflict that could have an impact on the US economy. and the Mexican.
Stellantis, General Motors and Ford, the “big three” of Detroit, were hit from the first minute of Friday by a strike of limited scope over wage demands but which, according to the powerful United Auto Workers (UAW) union, could be extended.
While Stellantis executives said a proposal to restart work at an idled Illinois factory failed, negotiators from the United Auto Workers and Ford Motor had “reasonably productive discussions” toward a new contract, the auto union said.
Although the negotiations are carried out with a high dose of secrecy, General Motors and Ford have publicly stated that they have offered salary increases of 20 percent distributed over the four-year period.
At the moment, only a tenth of the workers at the three companies are on strike, about 13,500 people.
Following instructions from the UAW, employees at three assembly plants went on strike starting Friday: GM’s Wentzville, Missouri; Toledo, Ohio, by Stellantis; and Michigan, in Michigan, from Ford.
But the stoppage of production in these three plants affects other facilities that manufacture components, so the effect goes beyond those three locations.
A report released in mid-August estimated that a 10-day strike at GM, Ford and Stellantis would cost $5 billion.
This year, negotiations began in July but the union and manufacturers have not reached an agreement. The previous collective agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, so the UAW decided to call strikes and pressure the companies to force an agreement.
The UAW called for wage increases of 46 percent over four years, as well as the introduction of new pensions, the reduction of the work day to 32 hours and the unionization of workers in battery production factories.
“For the first time in history, we will declare strikes at the same time in all three (companies). “We are using a new strategy, the selective strike,” said UAW President Shawn Fein.
COUP ON MEXICO
The strike of the automotive union could generate impacts for the Mexican sector worth 76 million dollars in the next week, estimated the National Auto Parts Industry (INA).
“Although it is difficult to determine the precise effect on the auto parts industry in Mexico because it will depend on several factors, the INA estimates that, during the next seven days, if the current scenario continues, the level of auto parts production at the level national could present a decrease of approximately 76 million dollars,” the organization said in a statement.
He explained that this decrease would represent 0.1 percent of Mexican exports of auto parts made to the United States during last year.
According to the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry, in Mexico there are 37 automotive plants, of which 20 produce automobiles, 10 manufacture engines and the remaining seven are dedicated to transmissions.
Distributed in 12 entities in the country, the sector employs more than 100 thousand Mexicans. Most of the parts for the manufacture of automobiles come from the United States, so the stoppage in the northern country would cause a lack of spare parts in Mexico, which would lead to national production being stopped or delayed and would affect to the thousands of workers.
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Sonora, Chihuahua, Guanajuato and the State of Mexico have Ford plants; Stellantis also has two plants in our country, one Coahulia and another in the State of Mexico and General Motors has four plants, in San Luis Potosí and they repeat in Coahuila, Guanajuato and the State of Mexico, so they would be the Mexican states that would resent the strike in United States.
Mexico is among the top 10 car producers internationally.
UAW is prepared to prolong long-term strikes until their demands are met. To do this, it has a fund of 825 million dollars that will allow it to pay 500 dollars a week to striking workers so that they have income during the protest.
2023-09-17 08:00:00
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