Washington, Sep 18 (Agency) The United Auto Workers (UAW) union rejected an offer from US automaker Stellantis to increase workers’ wages by 21%, union head Shawn Fain said on Sunday. On Friday, about 13,000 workers went on strike after the UAW in the United States announced that strikes at all three plants of the US “big three” automakers, namely Ford, Stellantis and GM, had begun after negotiations failed to increase workers’ wages by a deadline set late Thursday night. On Saturday, Stellantis said that it had offered a 21% salary increase for employees, with another 10% increase once the proposal is accepted by the union.
“We’ve asked for a 40% pay increase … because in the last four years alone the CEO pay went up 40% … It’s [Stellantis’ proposal] definitely a no-go. We’ve made that very clear to the companies,” Fain said in an interview to CBS News. On Saturday, the media reported that GM and Ford resumed negotiations with the union, with Stellantis planning to follow suit on Monday. The UAW said that the talks with Ford were “reasonably productive. “In addition to raising wages by 40% over four years, the union is also asking the companies to introduce a four-day workweek and other benefits.