The United Auto Workers (UAW) announced Friday it has made progress with Ford on contract negotiations while it is increasing targeted strikes against General Motors and Stellantis. Ford stock jumped Friday.
UAW President Shawn Fain said during a livestream Friday morning there had been some "real progress" at Ford regarding a union contract. Reuters reported earlier Friday the UAW has made "significant progress" toward a labor deal with Ford.
"We're not there yet," Fain said. "But we do want to recognize that Ford is showing that they're serious about reaching a deal."
"At GM and Stellantis, it's a different story," Fain added. The UAW president called for strikes at 38 locations across 20 states against Stellantis and GM, but did not announce any new strikes against Ford.
"We will shut down parts distribution until those two companies come to their senses and come to the table with a serious offer," Fain added.
Ford stock advanced 1.9% to 12.44 during Friday's regular market trade. General Motors stock edge down 0.4% and STLA gained 0.16%.
Meanwhile, nonunion Tesla dropped 4.2%. Among other nonunion automakers, Toyota advanced 0.4% while Honda dropped a fraction.
The Auto Strike And Negotiations
Last week, United Auto Workers members walked off the job and began to protest a GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Stellantis plant in Toledo, Ohio; and a Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan. The plants only make a few models of vehicles, mostly high-value trucks and SUVs, including Ford Broncos and Rangers, Jeep Wranglers, Chevrolet mid-size pickups and GMC vans.
The two sides remained far apart on new labor deals as the contracts expired at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14. UAW, which represents 150,000 autoworkers, announced Thursday night the walk-off would begin as targeted initiatives vs. a complete shutdown.
Ahead of Friday morning's announcement, the UAW and the automakers appeared far apart in negotiations.
Stellantis reportedly increased its offer to boost pay 20% over a four-and-a-half-year contract term, including an immediate 10% hike. In late February, Stellantis indefinitely shut an Illinois plant, citing rising costs of electric vehicle production.
The Stellantis proposal matched offers on the table from Ford and GM. However, it is well below the 40% hourly pay increase the UAW has pushed for. Early last week, news reports emerged the union cut its pay raise request to the mid-30% range.
UAW has around $825 million in its strike fund, and it increased its pay support for striking union members, making it and its members more financially able to handle a longer auto strike, according to analysts. Citi has estimated a potential two-week auto strike could hit GM profits by $1.3 billion. The firm predicts Ford could take a $1.6 billion hit to its bottom line.
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