UAW says 'a little bit of progress' in labor talks but wide divide remains

The United Auto Workers union has made some headway in labor talks with the Detroit Three automakers just three days before a potential strike of 146,000 U.S. autoworkers, but an agreement was still not in reach, UAW President Shawn Fain said on Monday.

“We’ve made some progress, a little bit of progress but it’s still slow but we’re moving,” Fain told CNN. “We have a long way to go. … There’s a lot of issues.”

Chrysler-parent Stellantis said earlier Monday that it planned to make another counteroffer after the union made a revised offer on Sunday. The current four-year labor deal expires on Sept. 14 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The UAW on Friday had rejected revised offers from Stellantis, General Motors and Ford Motor. GM made a new offer to the UAW over the weekend, but the details were not immediately available. GM declined to comment.

The UAW initially sought a 20% wage hike upon ratification and four annual 5% hikes, but has trimmed those hikes to around 36% in total, two sources told Reuters.

“We are on a good path and remain committed to reaching a tentative agreement without a work stoppage that would negatively impact our employees and our customers,” Stellantis told employees Monday, adding that the company and UAW subcommittees have reached tentative agreements in a number of areas, including health and safety.

Stellantis said Friday it had offered U.S. hourly workers a 14.5% wage hike over four years.

GM said Thursday it offered workers a 10% wage hike and two additional 3% annual lump-sum payments over four years. Stellantis last week did not offer additional lump-sum payments.

Ford last week hiked its offer to a 10% wage hike and lump sum payments after offering a 9% wage increase through 2027 and 6% lump sum payments.

The Detroit Three have offered to raise minimum pay for temporary workers to $20 an hour and reduce the time necessary to reach top wages for permanent autoworkers from eight years to six years.

The union’s demands include restoring defined-benefit pensions for all workers, 32-hour work weeks and additional cost-of-living hikes, as well as job security guarantees and an end to use of temporary workers.

Stellantis previously offered $10,500 in inflation protection payments over the four years, while GM is offering $11,000 and Ford $12,000.