Jeep maker gives UAW new contract proposal

Jeep maker Stellantis gave the United Auto Workers (UAW) a new contract proposal on Tuesday, just days before the union could announce further strikes against the Big Three automakers. 

A spokeswoman for Stellantis, whose subsidiaries also include Chrysler and Dodge, confirmed to The Hill the company passed a fifth offer on Tuesday, which focused on “mostly non-economic” outstanding issue.

It was not immediately clear if this would satisfy the demands of UAW president Shawn Fain, who has threatened to expand the strike strike starting Friday if the companies do not make “serious progress” on contract negotiations. 

A negotiator for the union told Bloomberg Stellantis’ offer lacks job security guarantees requested by the union, while having a similar pay increase to the 19.5 percent already offered. 

UAW workers began a historic strike against Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors last week after the workers’ contracts expired without a new deal.

The union is asking for wage increases, cost-of-living pay raises, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, union representation of workers at new battery plants and restoration of traditional-defined benefit pensions for new hires who now receive only 401(k)-style retirement plans and pension increases for retirees. 

Stellantis’s counteroffer is the first from the three automakers since the strike began last Friday. 

The offer comes after Stellantis announced on Wednesday the temporary layoffs of 68 employees at the Toledo Machining Plant in Perrysburg, Ohio, citing the UAW strike in Toledo, Ohio. The company also warned of an additional 300 layoffs at two plants in Kokomo, Indiana. 

General Motors similarly announced it idled a manufacturing plant in Kansas and laid off nearly all of its estimated 2,000 workers, according to The Associated Press (AP).

Fain has said if serious progress is not made by noon on Friday, more locals will be called upon to join the strike. 

“Our members have been clear about their demands, and we know the companies can afford to make things right. Record profits mean records contracts,” Fain said in a video message Tuesday. “We’ve been available 24/7 to bargain a deal that recognizes our members’ sacrifices and contributions to these record profits.”

The strike expanded from the Midwest on Wednesday when workers at a drivetrain plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala. went on strike, marking the fourth UAW plant to join the effort. Other plants involved are near St Louis, Detroit and Toledo.  

Other strike targets could include the locations UAW locals have announced they will hold rallies and practice picketing in the coming days, including a Ford plant in Louisville, Kentucky, a GM plant in Bedford, Indiana, and a GM truck plant in Arlington, Texas, per the AP. 

UAW and General Motors did not immediately responded to a request for comment.