The United Auto Workers (UAW) group hasn’t gone on strike against any more of the three biggest car companies in the United States because talks have made “significant” progress.
But the head of the union, Shawn Fain, said they would wait until General Motors agreed that workers at its plants that make batteries for electric cars would automatically join the union.
But the strike will not happen in new places, and walkouts will not happen there either.
“Our strike is working, but we’re not quite there yet,” Mr. Fain said.
About 25,000 car workers from GM, Ford Motor, and Stellantis, the company that owns Chrysler, are on the picket line right now.
The union, which speaks for about 146,000 workers at the companies, went on strike in the middle of September, when the contracts between the two sides ran out.
It’s the first time the UAW has taken action against all three companies at the same time, but it’s still pretty small because the union only wants a few places to join, using the fear of more to try to get the companies to come to an agreement.
So far, the union has told workers at five GM and Stellantis plants and 38 parts depots to go on strike.
The UAW thought about going on strike this week at GM’s SUV plant in Arlington, Texas, but Mr. Fain said the company had “leapfrogged” the talks.
At the time of the statement, GM said that talks were “ongoing” and that the company would “continue to work toward finding solutions to address outstanding issues.”
“Our goal remains to reach an agreement that rewards our employees and allows GM to be successful into the future,” the car maker stated.
The union started talks by asking for, among other things, a 40% pay raise over four years and an end to practices that give new hires less pay and fewer perks.
The businesses have said that the union’s demands would make it harder for them to make long-term investments. To fight back, they’ve given pay raises of about 20% and made some other concessions.
The talks were dominated by the question of how to treat workers at battery plants that are owned by joint ventures. This is because the industry is getting ready to make more electric vehicles.
Both US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who is running for re-election, have been to the Detroit area to talk about the strikes. This comes at a time when labor pressures are rising across the country.
At an event in Detroit, Mr. Fain said that the fight for better contracts was about more than just workers. He said, “This is the whole working class.”
“It’s shameful where we are as a nation,” he said.
