TOLEDO, Ohio — UAW President Shawn Fain used his weekly Friday video address to members and the public to praise recent progress at the bargaining table with Detroit's Big 3 automakers and urge striking autoworkers to hold strong.
Fain said the union had received new offers from two of the three in the last 24 hours. He said there had been "serious movement" in talks with Stellantis and General Motors in the last day.
"There's clearly still room to move," Fain said.
He pointed to progress on issues including cost-of-living wage increases, better deals for so-called temporary workers, profit-sharing and retirement, among other issues.
The ongoing labor battle, Fain said, is not just about one industry or one union. He cited the recent strike among Detroit casino workers.
"It's about the whole working class finding standing up to corporate greed," Fain said.
Fain referenced recent remarks from Ford Motor Executive Bill Ford that the UAW should partner with American automakers to beat foreign automakers in the increasingly competitive industry.
Fain said the days of UAW members partnering with domestic companies to fight other automakers is over.
"We won't be used in this phony competition," he said. "Non-union autoworkers are not the enemy, those are our future union family."
He praised the workers who have been on strike the longest -- including Toledo's Jeep workers who walked off the job Sept. 15.
"They've been out in the rain, in the cold, living off strike pay, wondering about the future," Fain said. "I want to acknowledge courage and fortitude of these members."
Fain acknowledged that some members are feeling doubt and uncertainty and may want to settle. He urged continued solidarity and said the union's negotiating committee and officers believe there is more to be gained at the bargaining table.
"When we vote, it will be from a place of strength," he said.
While Fain did not announce any expansion to the strike, he said workers should stay ready to walk off the job at any time if union leaders decide that an expansion is necessary.
UAW members of Jeep's Toledo Assembly Complex at the picket line reacted to Fain's announcement.
"I think he's going strong," one member said. "I love it. I thought he was going to send some more plants out [on strike], but he didn't.... but they [UAW leadership] have a plan and I'm all for it."
Another UAW member expressed similar surprise that Fain had not called on more plants to strike.
"I hoped for more... I feel we're not putting the pressure on Stellantis especially. I feel they have moved the least."
The nearly 6,000 workers at Jeep's Toledo Assembly Complex were among the first to hit the picket lines on Sept. 15. Since then, UAW leadership has added plants from Detroit's Big 3 automakers in the expanding "stand-up" strike.
For several weeks Fain used his weekly Friday address to announce strike expansions, beginning with one large plant from each company and then adding parts warehouses.
Last week, however, Fain announced that a large Ford plant in Louisville would join the strike on Wednesday. He saved his Friday address to say a new phase of the strike had begun -- one in which both UAW members and the auto makers should be prepared for strike-expanding announcements at any time.
About 23% of the union's 146,000 members employed by the three automakers now are on strike.
In response to Fain's announcement, Stellantis offered the following statement:
"Negotiations between Stellantis and the UAW continue to be productive, building on the momentum from the past several weeks. We have made progress on narrowing the gaps on significant issues that will bring immediate financial gains and job security for our employees. Our focus remains on resolving those issues as soon as possible and finding solutions that protect the Company and our employees."
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