The United Auto Workers strike has entered its fourth weekday, with the union breaking with tradition and striking simultaneously at one plant each of Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV.
The union has called it a “stand-up strike.” The strategy protects the UAW’s $825 million strike fund and picket-line firepower and is meant to keep automakers guessing about which plant might be next.
Here’s what to know about the strike going forward:
Ford, GM and Stellantis shares are holding up
Ford
F,
GM
GM,
and Stellantis
STLA,
shares were up a fraction on Wednesday, a mixed day for U.S. equities.
Ford shares are flat from Friday, the strike’s first day, and shares of GM are up around 1% from their Friday close. Stellantis shares are up more than 4% from the start of the labor action.
GM endured a UAW strike in 2019, and as such could be better prepared for what may lie ahead. Ford and Stellantis have not faced a strike in a generation.
Where UAW could strike next
The UAW said Monday it will announce on Friday additional factories at which it plans to strike if no progress in the negotiations is made.
So far, the strike has affected Big Three plants making SUVs and midsize pickup trucks. Wall Street fears that the action will soon move to factories making larger pickup trucks, which are at the heart of carmakers’ profits.
Workers are striking at a Michigan Ford plant making Broncos and Rangers, a Missouri GM plant making GMC Canyons and Colorados and an Ohio Stellantis plant making Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators.
Ford averts strike in Canada
Ford had to contend with a threat of a strike in Canada, but a tentative deal with Canadian union Unifor has been reached. (Eds. note: Ford and Unifor reached a deal on Sunday.)
Ford’s Oakville, Ont., assembly plant, about 20 miles southwest of Toronto, builds the Ford Edge SUV and the Lincoln Nautilus, also an SUV. The automaker also has a couple of engine factories in the country.
The contract with Unifor has been extended following an offer from Ford.
The strike could last for months
Barclays analysts published a note Wednesday with key takeaways from their talk with Marc Robinson, a consultant at MSR Strategy and a former GM executive.
Robinson told the analysts that, in his view, a resolution could come after about eight weeks.
“Around Halloween is when the union will be able to optically show they fought and ratcheted up pressure (adding plant strikes along the way),” the Barclays analysts wrote. “This is also when the strikers (especially earlier ones) may feel more financial hardship.”
Strike pay is $500 a week per worker. Some13,000 UAW members are currently striking, and the UAW has also extended strike pay to workers who have been laid off as a result of the strike.
Demands and offers
The companies have signaled they are open to some give and take on base-wage increases, the elimination of tiered wages and more paid vacation.
Plenty of sticking points remain, however. The automakers are unlikely to give in to demands such as a 32-hour workweek and a return to defined-pension benefits.
Here’s a table showing the various offers and demands:
Read the full article here