UAW expands strike at GM, Stellantis but reports progress in talks at Ford
The United Auto Workers union is expanding its strike against GM and Stellantis but raised hopes that progress is being made in talks by saying it would not have workers at Ford join the strike at this time.
29 min ago
Fain expected to announce progress with Ford
From CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich
United Auto Workers members strike at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant on September 15 in Wayne, Michigan. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
UAW President Shawn Fain is expected to announce that progress has been made with Ford in his 10am Facebook live, according to a source familiar to the announcement.
He is expected to provide an update on the state of negotiations with all three automakers and could announce additional targeted strikes.
Those walkouts would begin at 12 noon ET.
33 min ago
UAW says it is prepared to strike for ‘months’ in leaked messages
The United Auto Workers Union is prepared to strike automakers for “months,” according to leaked messages obtained by CNN.
The messages, betweenJonah Furman, Communications Director at the United Auto Workers Union, and other members of the labor community detail personal thoughts about the union’s strategy against the Big Three. The comments broadly confirm what the UAW has publicly said already, and they lay out the union’s willingness to use innovative measures to obtain the best possible deal for its workers.
In one message, Furman wrote “if we can keep them wounded for months, they don’t know what to do… this is recurring reputations damage and operation chaos.”
In another, he writes “The beauty is we’ve laid it all out in public and they’re still helpless to stop it.”
Neither Jonah Furman, nor the UAW responded to requests for comment. Furman is not directly involved in negotiations with the Big Three.
CNN reviewed a series of eight screen shots. The messages were part of a closed messaging group on X, formerly Twitter. The full context of the conversation is unknown, but the participants, who are in the labor community appear to be messaging about general union issues and strategy.
The Detroit Free Press was the first to report the leaked messages.
Drawn out UAW strike could stall the US economy, Moody's economist says
A sign leans against a fence as members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union walk the picket line in front of Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on September 15. Matthew Hatcher/AFP/Getty Images
If the United Auto Workers (UAW) launches a full-scale strike against the Big Three automakers and it lasts through the end of the year, economic growth could come to a “virtual standstill” during the fourth quarter, according to Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.
A full-scale UAW strike that lasts six weeks would reduce annualized GDP growth in the fourth quarter by an estimated 0.2%, Zandi told CNN in an email.
“This is a small impact, but meaningful, particularly in the context of other potential headwinds to growth in coming months,” Zandi said.
Given those obstacles and the UAW strike, Moody’s Analytics is projecting GDP will grow at an annual rate of just 0.8% in the fourth quarter.
“Real GDP would flatline in the fourth quarter if the UAW strikes the three automakers for the entire fourth quarter and all other assumptions hold,” Zandi said.
Another impact: A long strike would reduce low vehicle inventories.
Zandi said this will “forestall additional vehicle price declines, and even potentially push prices up, stymying the current disinflation and putting added pressure on the Fed.”
S&P Global Market Intelligence is warning of an even bigger hit to GDP of up to 2.17 percentage points in the fourth quarter if the strike lasts 15 weeks.
“A lasting strike…is looking highly probable,” S&P analysts wrote in a report on Monday. “The current political and economic conditions increase the odds of a longer strike.”
UAW President Shawn Fain warned over the weekend the union is prepared to escalate the strike.
“If we don’t get better offers, and we don’t get down to taking care of the members’ needs, then we’re going to amp this thing up even more,” Fain told CBS News.
48 min ago
Here's what the UAW strike means — and doesn’t mean — for auto sales
From CNN's Peter Valdes-Dapena
Unsold 2023 Wrangler sports-utility vehicles sit at a Jeep dealership on June 18, 2023, in Englewood, Colorado. David Zalubowski/AP
Dealerships will stay open
You will still be able to shop for cars, even at Ford, GM and Stellantis dealers. They’re not going to shut down, as car dealerships are independent franchises that aren’t owned by the company whose logo is on the building.
Vehicles could get more expensive
Not all automakers are facing a strike right now. Not even most of them. Toyota, BMW, Hyundai, Nissan, Tesla, Volvo and Subaru, just to name some, are still producing cars, trucks and SUVs in the United States, and their workers are not unionized.
But dealerships for the Japanese and South Korean automakers have always tended to have less vehicle inventory on-hand than those for the Michigan-based automakers. Ultimately, this could translate to pricing pressure as domestic automaker inventories start to run low and their competitors may not have the vehicles ready to pick up the demand.
Not all production will stop immediately
At plants where workers aren’t out on strike, production will presumably continue. So, if you’re in the market for, for instance, a Ford Bronco, a Jeep Wrangler or a GMC Canyon pickup, you should probably get to the dealership soon before inventories start to get really thin in a few weeks.
You may be waiting longer
While pickup truck inventories are well-stocked, they will run down if the strikes go on a long time. And truck buyers, being especially brand loyal, will probably just wait it out rather than shopping for competitive models like the Toyota Tundra or Nissan Frontier.
It pays to be flexible
Dealers will still have vehicles to sell for a few weeks, but, as the strike wears on, the choices available will start to dwindle. As the options dwindle you could try making a deal on one of the “ugly duckling” vehicles left hanging around on the showroom floor.
Canadian autoworkers union reaches tentative labor deal with Ford, averting strike
From CNN's Chris Isidore
An aerial view shows Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, on May 26. Carlos Osorio/Reuters
The union representing Canadian autoworkers at Ford reached a tentative deal with the US automaker on Tuesday, keeping more than 5,000 union members on the job and providing some good news for an industry dealing with unprecedented labor disruptions.
Details of the deal between Ford and Unifor, the Canadian union, were not immediately available. But it is likely very good news for Ford, which is already grappling with a strike by more than 3,000 members of the United Auto Workers union and facing the possible expansion of the US strike this coming Friday.
United Auto Workers walk the picket line during the auto workers strike on Thursday, Sept. 21 at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Toledo, Ohio. Jeremy Wadsworth/The Blade/AP
But that was always designed to be just a starting point, and the union threatened to expand the strike if its demands weren't met. UAW President Shawn Fain announced Monday night that it would pick other plants if there is no “substantial progress” in the offers from the automakers.
"Autoworkers have waited long enough to make things right at the Big Three. We’re not waiting around, and we’re not messing around," Fain said Monday.
The UAW chose to target final assembly plants first, which has made the initial strikes quite targeted and tactical. While the temporary closure of a final assembly plant is designed to cause some pain, a strike of such a final assembly plant is not devastating in the short-term, as it would only effect the vehicle models that are assembled there.
Autoworkers in the US are striking against the Big Three automakers, bargaining for substantial wage hikes among other demands.
The United Auto Workers' strike against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which makes cars under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands, has entered its eighth day.
UAW President Shawn Fain is expected to speak during a 10 am announcement on Facebook.
Against Stellantis:
Marysville facility in Marysville, MI
Centerline Packaging in Center Line, MI
Centerline Warehouse in Center Line, MI
Sherwood facility in Warren, MI
Warren Parts in Warren, MI
QEC in Auburn Hills, MI
Romulus facility in Romulus MI
Cleveland facility in Streetssboro, OH
Milwaukee facility in Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis facility in Plymouth, MN
Denver facility in Commerce City, CO
Chicago facility in Naperville, IL
Los Angeles facility in Ontario, CA
Portland facility in Beaverton, OR
Atlanta facility in Morrow, GA
Winchester facility in Winchester, VA
Orlando facility in Orlando, FL
Dallas facility in Carrolton, TX
New York facility in Tappan, NY
Boston facility in Mansfield, MA
The United Auto Workers union is expanding its strike against GM and Stellantis but raised hopes that progress is being made in talks by saying it would not have workers at Ford join the strike at this time.
United Auto Workers members strike at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant on September 15 in Wayne, Michigan. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
UAW President Shawn Fain is expected to announce that progress has been made with Ford in his 10am Facebook live, according to a source familiar to the announcement.
He is expected to provide an update on the state of negotiations with all three automakers and could announce additional targeted strikes.
Those walkouts would begin at 12 noon ET.
The United Auto Workers Union is prepared to strike automakers for “months,” according to leaked messages obtained by CNN.
The messages, betweenJonah Furman, Communications Director at the United Auto Workers Union, and other members of the labor community detail personal thoughts about the union’s strategy against the Big Three. The comments broadly confirm what the UAW has publicly said already, and they lay out the union’s willingness to use innovative measures to obtain the best possible deal for its workers.
In one message, Furman wrote “if we can keep them wounded for months, they don’t know what to do… this is recurring reputations damage and operation chaos.”
In another, he writes “The beauty is we’ve laid it all out in public and they’re still helpless to stop it.”
Neither Jonah Furman, nor the UAW responded to requests for comment. Furman is not directly involved in negotiations with the Big Three.
CNN reviewed a series of eight screen shots. The messages were part of a closed messaging group on X, formerly Twitter. The full context of the conversation is unknown, but the participants, who are in the labor community appear to be messaging about general union issues and strategy.
The Detroit Free Press was the first to report the leaked messages.
A sign leans against a fence as members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union walk the picket line in front of Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on September 15. Matthew Hatcher/AFP/Getty Images
If the United Auto Workers (UAW) launches a full-scale strike against the Big Three automakers and it lasts through the end of the year, economic growth could come to a “virtual standstill” during the fourth quarter, according to Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.
A full-scale UAW strike that lasts six weeks would reduce annualized GDP growth in the fourth quarter by an estimated 0.2%, Zandi told CNN in an email.
“This is a small impact, but meaningful, particularly in the context of other potential headwinds to growth in coming months,” Zandi said.
Given those obstacles and the UAW strike, Moody’s Analytics is projecting GDP will grow at an annual rate of just 0.8% in the fourth quarter.
“Real GDP would flatline in the fourth quarter if the UAW strikes the three automakers for the entire fourth quarter and all other assumptions hold,” Zandi said.
Another impact: A long strike would reduce low vehicle inventories.
Zandi said this will “forestall additional vehicle price declines, and even potentially push prices up, stymying the current disinflation and putting added pressure on the Fed.”
S&P Global Market Intelligence is warning of an even bigger hit to GDP of up to 2.17 percentage points in the fourth quarter if the strike lasts 15 weeks.
“A lasting strike…is looking highly probable,” S&P analysts wrote in a report on Monday. “The current political and economic conditions increase the odds of a longer strike.”
UAW President Shawn Fain warned over the weekend the union is prepared to escalate the strike.
“If we don’t get better offers, and we don’t get down to taking care of the members’ needs, then we’re going to amp this thing up even more,” Fain told CBS News.
Unsold 2023 Wrangler sports-utility vehicles sit at a Jeep dealership on June 18, 2023, in Englewood, Colorado. David Zalubowski/AP
Dealerships will stay open
You will still be able to shop for cars, even at Ford, GM and Stellantis dealers. They’re not going to shut down, as car dealerships are independent franchises that aren’t owned by the company whose logo is on the building.
Vehicles could get more expensive
Not all automakers are facing a strike right now. Not even most of them. Toyota, BMW, Hyundai, Nissan, Tesla, Volvo and Subaru, just to name some, are still producing cars, trucks and SUVs in the United States, and their workers are not unionized.
But dealerships for the Japanese and South Korean automakers have always tended to have less vehicle inventory on-hand than those for the Michigan-based automakers. Ultimately, this could translate to pricing pressure as domestic automaker inventories start to run low and their competitors may not have the vehicles ready to pick up the demand.
Not all production will stop immediately
At plants where workers aren’t out on strike, production will presumably continue. So, if you’re in the market for, for instance, a Ford Bronco, a Jeep Wrangler or a GMC Canyon pickup, you should probably get to the dealership soon before inventories start to get really thin in a few weeks.
You may be waiting longer
While pickup truck inventories are well-stocked, they will run down if the strikes go on a long time. And truck buyers, being especially brand loyal, will probably just wait it out rather than shopping for competitive models like the Toyota Tundra or Nissan Frontier.
It pays to be flexible
Dealers will still have vehicles to sell for a few weeks, but, as the strike wears on, the choices available will start to dwindle. As the options dwindle you could try making a deal on one of the “ugly duckling” vehicles left hanging around on the showroom floor.
An aerial view shows Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, on May 26. Carlos Osorio/Reuters
The union representing Canadian autoworkers at Ford reached a tentative deal with the US automaker on Tuesday, keeping more than 5,000 union members on the job and providing some good news for an industry dealing with unprecedented labor disruptions.
Details of the deal between Ford and Unifor, the Canadian union, were not immediately available. But it is likely very good news for Ford, which is already grappling with a strike by more than 3,000 members of the United Auto Workers union and facing the possible expansion of the US strike this coming Friday.
United Auto Workers walk the picket line during the auto workers strike on Thursday, Sept. 21 at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Toledo, Ohio. Jeremy Wadsworth/The Blade/AP
But that was always designed to be just a starting point, and the union threatened to expand the strike if its demands weren't met. UAW President Shawn Fain announced Monday night that it would pick other plants if there is no “substantial progress” in the offers from the automakers.
"Autoworkers have waited long enough to make things right at the Big Three. We’re not waiting around, and we’re not messing around," Fain said Monday.
The UAW chose to target final assembly plants first, which has made the initial strikes quite targeted and tactical. While the temporary closure of a final assembly plant is designed to cause some pain, a strike of such a final assembly plant is not devastating in the short-term, as it would only effect the vehicle models that are assembled there.
