A 46% pay raise. A 32-hour week and a return to traditional pension structures are among the demands UAW leaders are asking for in contract talks with Detroits Big Three automakers, General Motors, Stellantis and Ford. 

UAW President Shawn Fain spoke on UAW demands and contract talks at Detroit’s annual Labor Day Parade on Monday Sept. 4. The parade returned with a bang after a three year hiatus due to the pandemic with large crowds of supporters wearing red for solidarity, holding signs and cheering. Crowds gathered at 9am at Michigian and Sixth ave and made their way to Corktown where Fain gave a fiery speech reiterating the point that if the Big Three  don’t negotiate in good faith for a fair contract, “come Sept. 14, we’re going to take action to get it by any means necessary.” Fain also said that it’s not their intent to strike. “Our intent is to get a fair agreement,” he said. There are still three contracts to iron out and 10 days left to do it. “The goal is a fair and equitable agreement for our members. At the end of the day, if we are not there, there will be a strike.”

Later in the day at a Philadelphia Labor Day event, President Biden told reporters that he doesn't expect the UAW to strike any of the Detroit Three auto companies.  Fain said he was “shocked by that reaction.”

Detroit’s Big have enjoyed record profit collectively posting a net income of $164 billion over the past decade, $20 billion of it this year. 

The current contracts expires at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14.