If you are growing weary of seeing UAW President Shawn Fain’s face whenever a Big Labor conversation pops up, the bad news is that he’s still going like the Energizer Bunny.
Fain knows no boundaries while claiming to be pro-worker but still hurting his members in critical ways: (1) The data shows, as our own Phil Wilson recently discussed in light of Fain’s “moon shot” mass-organizing effort in the South, that union members do not make more money than non-union counterparts; (2) When union contracts do lead to significant wage increases, companies often must turn to layoffs to balance books against higher labor costs, and the auto manufacturing industry is no different.
Fain, however, is still pulling the wool over workers’ eyes. Perhaps that is the case because general economic frustration leads workers to mistakenly believe that an outside force can solve their problems. Eventually, the union will disappoint these workers, but until that happens, the damn lucky cog is everywhere, so let’s review his most recent appearances:
- The UAW’s win at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee is considered a watershed moment and counts as the first Southern auto plant to join the UAW since the 1940s. It’s also the union’s first win at a foreign-owned auto plant – part of an overall UAW push to target 13 non-union automakers.
- The union’s next Southern move involves two Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama (Vance and Woodstock), where workers will vote on UAW membership from May 13-17. If this goes the union’s way, up to 5,200 new members could join the rolls. Analysts believe that victory in Alabama will not come as quickly as the Volkswagen vote, yet the union claims that a “supermajority” is ready to join. Mercedes announced on May 1st that they were naming a new president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International (MBUSI), Federico Kochlowski, to replace Michael Göbel, who had served in the role since 2019.
- The UAW also claimed an “historic” agreement with Daimer Truck, which averted a strike with an eleventh-hour deal for 7,300 workers. Reportedly, every Daimer worker will receive 25+% raises over four years in line with the Big Three raises. The union did toss unfair labor practice charges at Daimer on the way to the goal.
- Michigan’s Stellantis’ Warren Stamping Plant workers authorized a strike of 1,000 workers over safety issues during the production of the Dodge RAM and Jeep Wrangler.
- Governors of six Southern states are sounding the alarm about job losses to come if/when unions drive up labor costs at regional auto plants.
- The white whale on the horizon: Fain’s ultimate target is to capture the South and then move on to unionizing Tesla. Along the way, Fain has been dramatically invoking sermon-like rhetoric, including quoting the Bible at a victory party after the Chattanooga Volkswagen vote, presumably to increase his appeal within deep red territory.
To add insult to injury: Laid-off workers at a Detroit-area Ford Rouge complex recently found themselves treated to a “Going Away Party” – thrown by UAW Local 600 – due to job losses after increased labor costs from the new Big Three contracts. The union must believe that BBQ chicken sliders and cookies fix everything, and it’s normal for union presidents to take off running rather than face the truth.
