Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where I am exhausted after a weekend of filming on a documentary project.
$135 Short of $1,000 Goal to Cover the Big Three Strikes
Good news, we are only $135 short of hitting our goal to cover the Big Three strikes.
Donate to help us cover the Big Three Strikes today. Please, if you can, sign up as one of our 756 recurring donors today.
Ford Talks “Productive” Says UAW
With all “Big Three’ automakers out on strike, some have speculated that the UAW may try to reach a labor agreement with one autoworker to pressure other unions into settling. Ford may be the first company to fall.
This weekend, the UAW issued a statement saying, “We had reasonably productive conversations with Ford today.”
For more, check out the Detroit News.
Investors Dig in For Long Strike
The strikes at the Big Three are likely to go on for some months. Investors have appeared to prepare themselves for the possibility of a long strike.
“For investors, the UAW strike has played out very much as predicted and is likely to last a few months if the negotiations proceed similar to the 2019 strike timeline,” wrote the popular investor blog Seeking Alpha. “Analysts have observed that the share prices of auto manufacturers and auto suppliers have already priced in some of the ongoing disruption, although they also warned that a strike of more than a few months could reset expectations. In the past, the auto sector as a whole has recovered most of the ground lost during work stoppages, and some opportunistic investors have realized big gains in auto suppliers stocks that rallied following the eventual contract renewals”.
For more, check out Seeking Alpha.
As Biden Sends Sperling & Su, Fain Says White House “Scared” of Strike
On Friday, President Biden announced that he had dispatched Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and Gene Sperling to help negotiate a deal between the Big Three and the UAW.
On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that the Biden Administration was “alarmed” by the impact a UAW strike could have on its attempts to transform the auto supplier industry. According to their report, the Biden Administration was preparing emergency measures to provide financial aid to parts suppliers that could negatively impact.
With an election a little over a year away, the Biden Administration has repeatedly intervened in strikes that they worry could negatively affect the economy.
In 2022, the Biden Administration used federal powers to block a railroad workers’ strike. This year, the Biden Administration intervened to help negotiate deals to prevent strikes both at UPS and on the West Coast Ports.
The Biden Administration, which has invested over $15 billion in transitioning auto suppliers to produce electric vehicles, is worried that strikes could cripple Biden’s efforts to create tens of thousands of jobs in the electric vehicle sector in the Midwest.
With the Biden Administration applying pressure to save auto suppliers, the UAW has, so far, avoided targeting auto suppliers. (See our story “As Biden Scambles to Save Suppliers, UAW Limits Strike’s Impact”)
It remains to be seen if the UAW will escalate to targeting suppliers, but UAW President Shawn Fain warned that the White House was scared of the strike potentially escalating.
“The White Houise is afraid. The companies are afraid”, Fain said on Friday.
Alright yinz, I gotta run. Keep sending tips, story ideas, comments & feedback to [email protected]
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Love & Solidarity,
Melk
