UAW accusations against GM, Stellantis have few precedents

GM did so in 1998, when UAW members struck two plants in Flint, Mich., ultimately halting production across the company. The grievance and a lawsuit were both withdrawn once the sides reached an agreement to end the strike.

Automotive News found instances when the union filed charges against GM in the early 1960s, against Ford between the late 1930s and early 1940s, and against GM in 1937 as part of the Flint sit-down strike. Labor experts, as well as union and automaker sources, were unaware of other cases.

“What is going on here is extremely untypical,” said a former high-ranking UAW official with deep knowledge of its past legal strategies. “It’s very unusual to go to a third party to seek a resolution.”

The charges, labor experts say, could provide an impetus for the union to strike and would provide workers with more protections if they do.

The National Labor Relations Act differentiates between typical strikes over economic issues — such as the UAW’s 40-day walkout at GM in 2019 — and unfair labor practice strikes protesting an employer’s treatment of workers.

Crucially, workers who strike over an unfair labor practice charge aren’t subject to permanent replacement by their employers, according to the National Labor Relations Act. Companies at times will threaten picketing workers with the loss of their jobs in order to break a strike or push them to accept a deal.

“This is a preemptive strike, before a strike, saying that, if GM and Stellantis had hopes of hiring permanent replacements to starve out the UAW, they can say ‘Sorry, you can’t do that,’ ” said Art Wheaton, a labor expert at Cornell University.

Fain said Thursday on Facebook Live that he filed the charges because the companies had not yet given the UAW counteroffers to the list of demands it announced publicly a month ago.

Although Stellantis had sent a proposal — which Fain publicly bashed — GM is not believed to have done so, although the companies’ current contracts don’t expire until Sept. 14.

The UAW could have a difficult time proving its allegations, experts say, as the companies could argue there’s still time before the deadline and that the union has yet to call for what’s referred to as the companies’ “last, best and final offer.”