United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is giving labor strategy professionals – pro and anti-union – a lot to study as UAW and Detroit Three negotiators rumble toward a strike deadline as Thursday clicks over to Friday in Detroit.
One subject is Fain’s vigorous use of social media platforms to rally UAW rank-and-file and trash the bargaining positions of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis management.
The old mantra, “we don’t negotiate in public,” is out the window. Fain on Friday used a Facebook Live appearance to conduct a point-by-point dissection of the then-current proposals from the auto companies (they may have shifted by now).
The UAW has produced mini-documentaries, including one about the impact of Stellantis’ decision to close an Illinois Jeep plant. Fain and his team assembled a fast-paced rebuttal to a series of media reports focused on whether vehicle prices would rise if a strike shuts down assembly lines.
One thing UAW members and the world learned: Stellantis is now offering a 14.5% wage increase over a four-year period – 4.5 percentage points better than GM or Ford’s earlier offers. Fain called Stellantis’ offer inadequate. But it’s fascinating to watch the bidding go up in real time.
Will there be a long, costly strike? Investors seem to think so. GM and Ford shares are down about 19% since July.
But Evercore ISI analyst Chris McNally on Monday told clients that a walkout and a sell-off in supplier stocks exposed to the Detroit Three could be a buying opportunity, because eventually there will be a settlement.
