US autoworkers' union chief warns of possible 'amplification' of strike

The strike movement started Friday at the three main American automakers could experience an "amplification" if better proposals are not made, warned Sunday the head of the union of workers in the sector. "If we don't get better offers ... we're going to amplify" the strike, UAW boss Shawn Fain said in an interview with CBS. "We've been left behind for decades," he added, explaining that the workers they represent "are fed up."

Discussions between the union and the "Big 3" (General Motors, Ford, Stellantis) resumed on Saturday with a view to ending the strike movement. "We had reasonably productive discussions with Ford today," the UAW told AFP on Saturday. Three sites have been shut down since Friday, a General Motors plant in Wentzville (Missouri), another of Stellantis in Toledo (Ohio), as well as a Ford branch in Wayne (Michigan). "Stellantis and the UAW have begun a critical stage of negotiations," said Saturday the group born of the merger, in 2021, between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French Peugeot.

Stellantis has raised its offer and now proposes an increase of "nearly 21%" over the duration of the new collective agreement, four years, against 14.5% a week ago. But for Shawn Fain, a 21% offer is largely insufficient while the UAW is asking for a 40% increase. "We don't even want to hear about it," he said Sunday on CBS. GM and Ford are offering to raise wages by a total of 20%.