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.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187,000 in August, and the unemployment rate rose to 3.8%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, social assistance, and construction. Employment in transportation and warehousing declined.

The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry.

The unemployment rate rose by 0.3% to 3.8 % in August, and the number of unemployed persons increased by 514,000 to 6.4 million. Both measures are little different from a year earlier, when the unemployment rate was 3.7% and the number of unemployed persons was 6.0 million.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.7%), Whites (3%), and Asians (3.1%) rose in August. The jobless rates for adult women (3.2%), teenagers (12%), Blacks (5.3%), and Hispanics (4.9%) showed little change over the month.

Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs increased by 294,000 to 2.9 million in August, offsetting a decrease of 280,000 in July. In August, the number of new entrants edged up to 597,000.

In August, the labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage point to 62.8 percent, after being flat since March. The employment-population ratio was unchanged over the month at 60.4%.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined in August to 106.1 (1985=100), from a downwardly revised 114.0 in July. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—fell to 144.8 (1985=100) from 153.0. The Expectations Index— based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—declined to 80.2 (1985=100) in August, reversing July’s sharp uptick to 88.0. Expectations were a hair above 80—the level that historically signals a recession within the next year. Although consumer fears of an impending recession continued to recede, we still anticipate one is likely before yearend.

“Consumer confidence fell in August 2023, erasing back-to-back increases in June and July,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board.”

August’s disappointing headline number reflected dips in both the current conditions and expectations indexes. Write-in responses showed that consumers were once again preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for groceries and gasoline in particular. The pullback in consumer confidence was evident across all age groups—and most notable among consumers with household incomes of $100,000 or more, as well as those earning less than $50,000. Confidence held relatively steady for consumers with incomes between $50,000 and $99,999.”

Hard data confirm that employment gains have slowed, overall wage increases are less generous compared to a year ago, and the average number of weeks of unemployment is ticking upward. Business conditions in August were little changed from July, but still somewhat lower than in June.

“Expectations for the next six months tumbled back near the recession threshold of 80, reflecting less confidence about future business conditions, job availability, and incomes,” Peterson added. “Consumers may be hearing more bad news about corporate earnings, while job openings are narrowing, and interest rates continue to rise—making big-ticket items more expensive. Notably, expectations for interest rates jumped in August after falling two months ago. Also, the outlook for stock prices fell and average 12-month inflation expectations ticked up. The measure of expected family financial situation, six months hence (not included in the Expectations Index) softened further.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – UAW President Shawn Fain announced that the union’s strike authorization vote passed with near universal approval from the 150,000 union workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Final votes are still being tabulated, but the current combined average across the Big Three was 97% in favor of strike authorization. The vote does not guarantee a strike will be called, only that the union has the right to call a strike if the Big Three refuse to reach a fair deal.

“Our union’s membership is clearly fed up with living paycheck-to-paycheck while the corporate elite and billionaire class continue to make out like bandits,” said UAW President Fain. “The Big Three have been breaking the bank while we have been breaking our backs.”

UAW President Fain was elected to office in the union’s first ever direct election and has broken with tradition by refusing to shake hands with Big Three CEOs prior to bargaining and refusing to bargain the UAW’s core economic demands in secret, choosing instead to publicly announce them to the membership and to provide ongoing bargaining updates over social media.

The union’s demands include the elimination of tiered wages and benefits, wage increases to offset inflation and match the generous salary increases of company executives over the last four years, the re-establishment of cost-of-living allowances and defined benefit pensions and retiree healthcare, the right to strike over plant closures, significant increases to current retiree benefits, and more paid time off to be with family.

“Our members’ expectations are high because Big Three profits are so high. The Big Three made a combined $21 billion in profits in just the first six months of this year. That’s on top of the quarter-trillion dollars in North American profits they made over the last decade. While Big Three executives and shareholders got rich, UAW members got left behind. Our message to the Big Three is simple: record profits mean record contracts.”

The strike authorization vote at General Motors passed by 96%. The following is a statement from UAW Vice President Mike Booth, director of the UAW-General Motors Department:

“The highest authority is the membership, and this is definitively outlined within our UAW Constitution. Today the 46,000 UAW represented members at General Motors clearly spoke with a unified voice when the strike authorization passed by 96%,” said UAW Vice President Mike Booth, director of the UAW-General Motors Department. “General Motors has made insane record profits in the past few years and the UAW membership is only demanding their fair share. Today, the members put the company on notice.”

The strike authorization vote at Ford passed by 98% for hourly represented workers and 99% by salaried represented workers. The following is a statement from UAW Vice President Chuck Browning, director of the UAW-Ford Department:

“I’m proud of the 59,000 Ford workers who have stood together to send a clear and united message to the company,” said UAW Vice President Chuck Browning, director of the UAW-Ford Department. “Ford earned $76 billion in North American profits between 2013 and 2022 and their profits are once again surging in the first half of this year. This resounding strike authorization vote by our Ford members shows that they are ready to go the distance and do what is necessary to claim their fair share of Ford’s success.”

The strike authorization vote at Stellantis passed by 95%. The following is a statement from UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, director of the UAW-Stellantis Department:

“The 44,000 UAW members at Stellantis have said with one voice that they are demanding an end to tiers, COLA, and big wage increases like the Stellantis executives have enjoyed,” said UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, director of the UAW-Stellantis Department. “Stellantis has made astronomical profits over the last decade and recently announced they made a record $12 billion in profits in the first half of this year. This strike vote is a warning to Stellantis: we know the company can afford our demands and we are united and willing to do what it takes to win them.”