Experts weigh in on what strategy’s impact might be
The UAW’s targeted plan for a possible strike could mean that some workers are on the picket lines making $500 a week in strike pay while others are on the assembly lines making their full wages.
Whether such a situation would breed contempt among workers would depend on the messaging from the United Auto Workers union, said Brett Miller, a labor and employment attorney at Butzel law firm.
“There may be some comfort if the union plans to start small and escalate the strike involving more members or it is making representations that the final result of the strike would be worth the sacrifice,” he said.
As to whether the union strikes a plant that supplies parts to another plant, thereby halting the second, non-striking plant’s production, the automaker could shut down that non-striking plant and essentially it would be a lockout for those workers at the non-striking plant.
Miller said that under the UAW constitution, those on strike or locked out could get strike pay. Generally, unemployment will not cover employees who are on strike, but there are exceptions, such as in New York and New Jersey.
Miller’s comments follow UAW President Shawn Fain’s announcement on a closely watched Facebook Live session this week that local unions are trained and on standby to launch a rolling shutdown at various auto factories and operations centers with little notice should the union and Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, owner of Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler and Fiat, fail to reach a deal by the time the contracts were to expire Thursday night. The Free Press asked numerous legal and labor experts about some of the potential implications of the strike strategy.
Labor attorney L. Steven Platt at the Howard and Howard firm in Chicago said the strike strategy could backfire should it create tension between those who are striking and those who are not. But, he added, “it really depends on how much solidarity there is for a strike. Usually this doesn’t become a problem unless there is a long strike.”
If a non-striking plant were forced to shut down because of a parts shortage due to a strike at another plant, Platt said, the union would determine whether or not workers at the non-striking plant would get strike pay.
As for unemployment benefits in these situations, Platt said, “Michigan is one of two states (the other being Texas) that does not allow such benefits. In other states you are eligible for benefits if your workplace shuts down due to a work stoppage at another facility controlled by your employer. Not Michigan.”
He said that once the contract expires, an automaker could order a lockout at the remaining non-striking plants if it so desired.
“Here, the union did not agree to extend the agreement on existing terms during contract talks,” Platt said. “Usually, it is management that doesn’t agree to extend. I did not understand why the union did this given the leverage it gives management by doing this.”
An automaker could legally lock out employees at non-striking plants and it wouldn’t even have to call it a lockout, said Harley Shaiken, professor emeritus at University of California, Berkeley. “They could simply say it’s a plant closure due to lack of parts,” he said.
Still, the strategy of taking out some plants and not others is a strong plan that most workers will likely embrace, Shaiken said.
“While no one wants to lose a paycheck, workers tend to understand the sacrifices they’re making and as a result they’re likely to be far more angry at the company than their co-workers at least towards the beginning,” he said.
There’s also another possibility, according to Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University ILR School in Buffalo, New York.
The strategy would likely not create much tension among strikers and non-strikers when it comes to paychecks, but it could be “more of an issue of jealousy because many want to strike,” Wheaton said.
The UAW has planned a rally Friday with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders for 4 p.m. at the UAWFord National Programs Center in downtown Detroit, even going so far as to say members from other parts of the country will come to it. The rally is to fire up the members to support fighting for a strong contract, but it was planned well ahead of the contract deadline, indicating to some that the UAW does not expect to hammer out an agreement by the deadline Thursday night.
“The scheduled rally, right next to the Detroit Auto Show, certainly implies that the UAW views a strike as likely,” Miller said. “Whether the rally becomes part of an unfair labor practice charge would most likely depend on the status of bargaining as several automakers have publicly complained that the UAW has not responded to multiple economic proposals.”
As for the pre-planned Friday rally, Shaiken said it makes sense to schedule something like that because the chances of a last-minute settlement are “very slim at a single automaker and even less at all three. There’s a sense that Shawn Fain wants to demonstrate the power of a strike and his ability to use it.”
Still, the potential for a settlement even up until the deadline.
“A lot of things can happen in the last few hours of a negotiation,” said Marick Masters, a labor expert and business professor at Wayne State University.
Masters, however, said he believes that solidarity within the UAW as a whole is something for the union to consider.
When certain workers are not feeling the strike-related pain that others are, it could cause a sense of division, particularly if some workers feel that’s not the most effective strike method, Masters said.
Another key factor is the level of support for a union strike that exists among its members. The UAW released the percentage of the strike authorization vote, showing that it passed by 97%, but the union did not say how many members participated in the vote.
Although the union has presented a unified front during the bargaining led by Fain — who garnered approximately 30,000 viewers for his Facebook Live strategy announcement this week — the election that landed him and other reformer candidates in top leadership posts was close and contentious.
“To what extent are workers across the board supportive of this? (Fain’s) going to hear from those workers who are most likely part of his caucus and supportive of these kinds of activities. You can’t assume that these other workers who are silent are going to be highly supportive of this,” Masters said.
The union has many new members who work with the automakers who have also never experienced a strike. It would be a new experience for them, Masters said, noting that he’s not diminishing their enthusiasm or support.
But being on strike is different than talking about being on strike.
“People can say they’re all willing to strike. Let’s see how people feel when they’re there for two weeks or three weeks,” Masters said.
He called it “unfathomable” that the companies would simply stand by while the strike strategy the union announced was allowed to unfold. That’s because it makes the companies vulnerable.
A strike at a component plant, for instance, could diminish a carmaker’s ability to operate many more facilities that rely on that plant. He referenced a 1998 strike against General Motors that started with two plants and ultimately affected plants across the country.
“If the company sat back and did nothing it would let the union control the pace of the strikes,” he said.
Selective strikes in this manner could cripple a company’s ability to operate, “no doubt about it,” Masters said.
“They know the components, the engines, transmissions, that can essentially shut it down,” Masters said of the union.
That’s in addition to the possibility of targeting assembly plants that produce the most popular vehicles, he said.
A company might respond to this strategy by instituting a lockout. However, Masters said he believes the companies would let the union decide if it wants to strike first.
When asked if announcing the strategy in this way was smart, Masters noted that an unconventional approach can be risky but it can also be viewed as a negotiating tactic.
“He wants to put the maximum pressure on the companies until 11 or 12 tonight,” Masters said Thursday morning, noting that Fain could still decide to call for a companywide strike against one or more of the automakers.