Union Deal With Ford Would Put Pressure on Other 2 Detroit Automakers

The Detroit automakers and the United Auto Workers continued to negotiate Saturday, company representatives said, a day after the union expanded strikes in a way that could curtail the supply of spare parts for vehicles made by General Motors and Stellantis, which owns Jeep and Ram.

UAW members walked off the job at GM and Stellantis parts distribution centers Friday but spared Ford, saying the company had done more to meet its demands.

“Our pressure on Ford is starting to pay off,” the UAW told members Saturday.

While there was no indication that a deal with Ford was imminent, an agreement with the company could put pressure on the other two to offer similar terms and lead to a speedy end to the strike, analysts said.

“The moment you get a deal with Ford that includes much or all of what the UAW is looking for, that puts a lot of pressure on GM and Stellantis,” said Michael Duff, a professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law and a former attorney for the National Labor Relations Board.

A short strike would be good news for the economy. About 200,000 people work in auto manufacturing, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group. That figure does not include jobs that are indirectly dependent on carmaking, which is several times higher.

Lost wages would hurt consumer spending, while inflation could rise if some vehicles become hard to get, or repair shops and dealerships run short of spare parts. More than 18,000 UAW members are now on strike.

Stellantis workers walked out at 20 of the company’s parts distribution centers Friday, while GM workers went on strike at 18 centers.

A deal that Ford reached this past week with the union that represents its Canadian workers could offer clues to the outcome in the United States. The deal with Unifor provides for pay increases up to 25% over the three years of the contract, as well as bonuses, improved retirement benefits and measures to protect employees as Ford retools factories for electric vehicles.

Unifor, which probably has less leverage than the UAW because Ford has a much smaller presence in Canada, achieved those gains without having to walk out. The union is negotiating separately with GM and Stellantis in Canada.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/23/business/uaw-strike-general-motors-stellantis-ford.html">The New York Times</a>.