UAW President Has 'A Lot Of Work To Do In 48 Hours' To Avoid Catastrophic Strike

The President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Shawn Fain joined CNBC’s Squawk Box Wednesday morning to discuss the union’s demands as part of its ongoing contract negotiations.

Fain said the UAW is asking for double-digit pay increases amid high revenue growth among the big three automakers, as well as a 40% pay increase for CEOs throughout the last four years.

The legacy big three U.S. auto manufacturers are Ford Motor Co F, Stellantis NV STLA (formerly Chrysler) and General Motors Co GM. Fain said on CNBC that the UAW is seeking a pay increase of as much as 30% or higher, and is not going lower than a 30% increase in contract negotiations. 

The Demands: “We’ve been at 40%,” Fain told CNBC. “We’ve been having conversations with the companies but 40% was our demand. What’s good for the CEOs is good for our members.”

The UAW’s fight for higher wages encapsulates a problem that is spread across industries in the United States: CEO and executive salaries rising at a much faster rate than laborers or everyday workers. 

Read Also: UAW Threatens Strike At Targeted Auto Plants If Labor Deals Not Reached: Report

The UAW is one of many labor unions fighting in 2023 for better working conditions and higher pay. Other high-profile union battles include Hollywood’s SAG-AFTRA actors and writers strike as well as barista workers battling against Starbucks Corp SBUX. Starbucks has been accused of deploying union-busting tactics to prevent workers from banding together. 

Economic Impact: According to the Anderson Economic Group, an East Lansing-based firm, a 10-day UAW strike could result in a nationwide economic loss of more than $5 billion. Drag that strike out longer than 10 days, and the economic loss increases drastically. 

The deadline for the UAW to agree to new contract terms with the big three automakers is 11:59 pm ET Thursday night, coming up in less than 48 hours. Fain says that if there is no agreement in place before Thursday night there will be "action" and that there’s still "a lot of work to be done in 48 hours," he said on CNBC.

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