Striking auto workers want fairer pay 鈥� and a cleaner union
| Romulus, Mich.
On this warm September afternoon the passing cars and trucks honk their horns in solidarity. The knot of union workers cheer and wave their blue-and-white picket signs. It鈥檚 the first strike by the United Auto Workers in 12 years and spirits are high.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a lot of support,鈥� says John Paul, a machinist at General Motors鈥� powertrain plant here in Romulus, Michigan, outside Detroit.
But a cloud hangs over this strike that makes it difficult to discern its ultimate resolution. For the first time in its history, the UAW is negotiating a major contract while its leadership battles corruption charges. It鈥檚 possible the scandal will lengthen the strike, emboldening both sides to take a harder line than they otherwise would at a time when the industry is flush with profits. It鈥檚 certainly distracting attention away from the pivotal nature of the talks, as the industry begins to focus on far-reaching technological changes that will transform car production in ways not seen since the rise of the internal combustion engine.
Why We Wrote This
Questions of fairness are central as auto workers picket against General Motors. But this time, those concerns are intertwined with a union鈥檚 effort to overcome the taint of scandal.
鈥淭his is a mystery strike to me,鈥� says Gary Chaison, professor emeritus of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. 鈥淚t has elements of 鈥� the usual issues: health-care, wages, part-time workers, and so on. [But] the corruption charges introduce a new element to this strike 鈥� an unpredictable element, to some degree.鈥�
The details emerging from the ever-widening federal probe, which so far has netted nine convictions and charges against two others for millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks, have hurt the union鈥檚 reputation. First the investigation unearthed bribes from Fiat Chrysler America officials to UAW leaders. The focus this year has broadened to include leaders鈥� misuse of union funds.
Union corruption declining
鈥淚t is a black eye,鈥� says James Martin, a labor-relations expert at Wayne State University in Detroit. 鈥淭he UAW had a squeaky clean image.鈥�
The charges come at a time when, by virtually all accounts, union corruption is on the wane after federal investigators have taken aim at mafia infiltration of the Teamsters and other unions.聽
鈥淭he FBI and a lot of agencies have delivered a knockout punch to organized crime in labor,鈥� says Carl Horowitz, a senior fellow who tracks union corruption for the National Legal and Policy Center in Falls Church, Virginia. But 鈥渋t鈥檚 not dead. ... Believe me, I鈥檓 fully employed.鈥�
One indication of the declining corruption comes from the Labor Department鈥檚 Office of Labor-Management Standards. Through August of this year, 21 union officials and employees were sentenced for stealing union funds and other crimes. In the same period in 2009, 53 were sentenced.聽 聽聽
Mixed views among workers
How much has the scandal affected the UAW鈥檚 contract talks with General Motors? On the picket line, views are mixed.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening nationally [with investigations] has nothing to do with us鈥� and the contract, says Keith Thompson, a team leader at the plant鈥檚 transmission division.
Tim Whalen, a 43-year union member and team leader at the machining department, says union leaders may have chosen to strike because they felt they needed to regain the rank and file鈥檚 confidence by showing they were being tough on General Motors.
A strike can help rally members, even disaffected ones, says Dr. Chaison of Clark University. 鈥淓ssentially, they鈥檙e telling the reformers: 鈥楤e quiet while we are taking care of business.鈥欌��
The scandal may have emboldened GM to take a harder line at the talks, judging that it had weakened the union鈥檚 leadership, labor experts say. When the union rejected GM鈥檚 final offer just before the strike deadline, the automaker took the unprecedented step of publishing that offer. The offer looked good 鈥� 5,400 jobs added or retained and $7 billion in U.S. investment over four years, but 鈥渋t is filled with loopholes,鈥� says Harley Shaiken, a professor specializing in labor issues at the University of California, Berkeley.聽
And it didn鈥檛 address a key issue: temporary workers, who make up about 7% of GM鈥檚 workforce, whose ranks the automaker wants to boost to increase flexibility and drive down costs.
On the picket line, the topic is popular, because union members feel uncomfortable when workers doing the same job get different pay.
鈥淐鈥檓on, man,鈥� says one striker, motioning Tom Lademann over to talk to a reporter. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about you.鈥�
Mr. Lademann, working security at a nearby mall for $10 an hour, welcomed the bump up in pay to $15.87 an hour when he joined GM in 2017. But that鈥檚 roughly half what full-timers pull in and he wants a path toward permanent status at GM.
While union workers are looking back at the record profits of 2016 and 2017 and near-record $8.1 billion in after-tax profits last year, the company is looking ahead to how a trade war and potential recession could dent聽demand for cars, which is already softening slightly. GM also worries about how to pay for the needed investment to prepare to make electric and autonomous cars in the future.聽聽
鈥淕M is seeking to squeeze the workers at a moment of high profitability,鈥� says Mr. Shaiken. 鈥淭hey know they need billions for the transformation of the industry. They see a slowdown on the horizon and they think doing this now will both ensure the company鈥檚 future competitiveness and impress Wall Street.鈥�
He believes that鈥檚 a strategic mistake.聽
Or maybe it鈥檚 just reality.
鈥淲hat they鈥檙e signaling to the workers is that the nature of the industry has changed,鈥� says Dr. Chaison. 鈥淭he cars will be autonomous and electric and the industry will involve more part-time workers. Get used to it.鈥�
Retorts Mr. Whalen on strike in Romulus: 鈥淚 am not backing down for anything.鈥�
