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UAW to vote on strike authorization amid claims Detroit talks are moving slowly

DETROIT — About 146,000 members of the United Auto Workers union will vote next week whether to authorize their leaders to call strikes against the Detroit automakers. Union President Shawn Fain told members in a Facebook Live appearance Tuesday that the talks, which started in mid-July, are moving slowly and have yet to get to wages and other economic issues. The union's contracts with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis expire in about a month, at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14. “If we want to make progress at the bargaining table, we need to show the companies that it's not just talk,” Fain said of the strike vote. He told local offices to report the results of their votes to the union headquarters by Aug. 24. Strike authorization votes are a routine part of contract talks and are often overwhelmingly approved, but Fain said the vote is a sign of the union's strength. Fain has set high expectations for the contract talks and says the union will seek more than 40% general pay raises over four years, restoration of pensions for newer hires, cost-of-living increases, an end to wage tiers, and other benefits. He has said workers can make big gains but must be ready to strike to get them. The union also wants guarantees that it will represent workers at 10 U.S. electric vehicle battery plants proposed by the companies. Most are joint ventures with Korean battery companies. Much of Fain's rhetoric has been focused on Stellantis, the most profitable of the three companies with the highest profit margins. Fain has complained that Stellantis is seeking concessions in the contract when the union wants gains. But a union spokesman said singling out Stellantis doesnÂ’t mean the UAW has picked a company as a strike target, and it could choose all three. He said the union doesn't plan to extend the contracts beyond Sept. 14. Automakers say they are facing billions of dollars in development costs as the industry shifts from combustion engines to electric vehicles. In a letter to employees last week, Stellantis Chief Operating Officer Mark Stewart accused Fain of “theatrics and personal insults” that Stewart said will not help to reach a deal. He wrote that the company is committed to an agreement based on “economic realism” that supports the viability of Stellantis' operations while rewarding workers. The company, he wrote, wants to find solutions to protect Stellantis from nonunion companies with lower costs and additional costs from moving to electric vehicles. “Mr.

Chrysler shows creative side with employee art exhibit

The United Auto Workers and Chrysler recently sponsored 92 works of art created by 50 of the automaker's unionized and salaried employees for the 2013-14 Artists at Work Exhibition, the ninth such show, which recognizes the creative process required to make art and manufacture vehicles. Chrysler says the event is "the country's only juried art show sponsored by a major corporation and a labor union." Unfortunately, the exhibit is not open to the public, but we have images to share of the winning pieces as well as other interesting exhibits in the gallery above.
"Art and manufacturing have more in common than you might think," says Keith Mickens, Chrysler-UAW National Training Center co-director from the UAW. "The creative process involved in producing a memorable image on a canvas can be used to help build quality vehicles on an assembly line."
A diverse range of art forms are showcased, from metal sculptures to ceramics to photography to paintings and more. Four Detroit-area professional artists narrowed down over 600 submissions to the 92 works of art that were shown at the exhibit, then awarded "Best of Show" prizes to three employees for their work (the first three images in our gallery) and selected 11 employees for honorable mentions. The overall winner is the sculpture above by Joseph Aiuto, titled "Childhood Anxiety."

Jeep to stop using bad Takata airbag inflators next week

FCA is gradually ceasing to produce vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflaters found to be inherently faulty. These airbags, which lack a certain drying agent, have been linked with dangerous premature ruptures. According to FCA, the only vehicle still in production with the named airbag is the 2016 Jeep Wrangler, and in this case they are passenger-side airbags. Fiat Chrysler says it isn't aware of any incidents involving these air bag inflaters in Jeeps, but amidst concerns that vehicles with failure-prone airbags are still being marketed to customers, North American-market 2016 Wranglers will cease to be equipped with them starting next week. As per FCA's statement, global production is expected to end by mid-September. In addition to Toledo, Ohio, the Wrangler is produced in Egypt. FCA isn't going to sell the cars with the deemed-faulty airbags without disclosing the fact to the customers: anyone buying a 2016 Wrangler will be notified that the vehicle will most likely be subject to a recall in the future, even if there is not currently a recall announced for them. NHTSA has specified a "Coordinated Remedy Program" recall schedule for the coming years, and the airbag inflaters will degrade over a time frame of several years, when subjected to a humid environment. Related Video: News Source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, The Wall Street JournalImage Credit: Julien Amado / Autoblog Quebec Plants/Manufacturing Recalls Chrysler Jeep Ownership Safety Takata airbag recall