By this time next week, we could be in the middle of an auto industry strike by the United Auto Workers union.
However, we are expecting some recent momentum between the UAW and the Big Three to continue, but it will take a compromise on both sides.
On Friday, it's expected Stellantis will release its offer, which the automaker had said it would release by the end of the week.
On Thursday, General Motors released its counter-offer to the UAW, which showed most employees would get a 10% wage hike and two lump-sum payments for a total increase of about 16%
UAW President Shawn Fain dismissed the offer, calling it "insulting" and saying it doesn't even come close to an equitable agreement for America's automakers.
Meanwhile, Ford is preparing financially for a possible strike. According to SEC filings last month, Ford secured a $4 billion line of credit, which the company said will provide more economic certainty.
When asked about reports they're training salaried workers to staff parts depots, they responded saying in part, "We have a responsibility to our customers and dealers to ship the parts that keep Ford vehicles on the road...especially to keep first responders and other essential services running."
The UAW is asking for the elimination of the two-tier wage system, the restoration of traditional pensions, double-digit pay increases and more. 97% of workers voted yes to authorize a strike last month if a deal isn't reached with any automaker by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14.
For the last seven years, Caesar Seay has worked on the engine assembly line in Trenton. Like many UAW workers, he said his biggest concern is his job going away entirely.
"At least two to three years they have been saying that this plant is going to close go down to one shift, move product somewhere else," he said.
Last summer, in a move to be fully-electric by 2028, Stellantis shut down an engine line at the plant. U.S. REps. Debbie Dingell and Rashida Tlaib, and UAW International Vice President Rich Boyer, spoke during a rally last year about how they would use the UAW contract negotiations to make sure the plant stays open.
"We can talk about pensions, we can talk about benefits, but if you don't have a product, job, none of it matters," Boyer said.
With less than a week until the end of the contract, the Big Three are showing their counter-offers.
Ford offered a 9% wage hike, GM a 10% hike, but it's far below the 46% hike sought after by the UAW.
The union and its members have been very vocal over the disappointment in how close to the strike deadline counteroffers from the automakers are coming in.
The UAW does have a strike fund with over $800 million to help union workers with pay during a possible strike.
