Auto workers strike strategically

Today saw nearly 13,000 members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike across three facilities owned by one of each of the Detroit Big Three automakers: General Motors’ assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; Ford’s factory in Wayne, Michigan; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.

It also marks the first time in 88 years that all three of the Detroit automakers were targeted at once.  

UAW President Shawn Fain calls the move a Stand Up Strike.

According to the union’s website, the Stand Up Strike is “our generation’s answer to the movement that built our union, the Sit-Down Strikes of 1937” and will grow over time, “giving our national negotiators maximum leverage and maximum flexibility to win a record contract.”

The UAW says autoworkers in 2023 face some of the same issues autoworkers of 1937 faced: a rapidly changing industry in which workers are being left behind. Then as now, our labor movement is redefining itself.

More union locals could be asked to “Stand Up” and join the strike as time goes on.

The UAW says the Stand Up Strike “keeps the companies guessing and builds economic leverage against the Big Three over time if they refuse to negotiate a contract we deserve.”

The UAW members who continue to work will be working without a contract, which means the terms and conditions in the expired contract with the automakers continue to apply.

RELATED: Ferrous market casts wary eye on auto industry negotiations

Earlier this month, at the Institute of Scrap Recycling (ISRI) Roundtables, the possibility of a strike was raised during some of the sessions. 

During the Ferrous Roundtable, Blake Hurtik, editorial manager at Argus Media, which is based in Houston, said it would not be good for the steel industry if a third of steel demand stops for a time in the case of a full strike.

Stephen T. Muller, a ferrous scrap advisor to London-based CRU, said such a strike could affect the amount of scrap in the form of factory bundles that is available, potentially removing roughly 100,000 tons per month from the market.

Greg Holt, senior editor, Ferrous Metals, S&P Global Commodity Insights, New York, said the effect on the ferrous scrap market will depend on the duration of the strike, adding that the UAW was “gearing up for a battle.”

During the ISRI Aluminum Roundtable, Beatriz Landa, vice president of Metal Procurement and Recycling at Atlanta-based rolled aluminum producer Novelis, noted that the automotive sector had increased its demand for aluminum over the last four to six months in preparation for the strike. 

According to AP, the UAW has an $825 million strike fund. However, the costs to the union, workers, automakers and potentially steel and aluminum producers and the companies that provide them with scrap will increase if the strikes expand to more plants.