Back to Work in Early May? Not So Fast, Says UAW

The domestic auto industry is revving its engines, ready to cautiously punch the accelerator, but something’s standing in its way. That something would be United Auto Workers President Rory Gamble, who on Thursday appealed to companies to put the green flag away and think of their employees instead.

Seeing automakers angling for a production restart in the first week of May, the UAW boss said it was too early to move ahead.

“At this point in time, the UAW does not believe the scientific data is conclusive that it is safe to have our members back in the workplace,” Gamble said in a statement. “We have not done enough testing to really understand the threat our members face.”

As the Detroit Three burn through dough as plants sit idle, a growing number have targeted early- to mid-May as the starting point of a restart, in some cases a phased one. The Detroit Three mainly held back from offering specifics, pending talks with the UAW. However, the trio looked to be moving in the same direction as their foreign competition, with Fiat Chrysler initially aiming for a May 4th return.

According to Reuters, General Motors began asking front-line managers to return to work next week in order to train on new safety protocols, with sources at Ford workers will be called in to prepare plants for production.

“We have not done enough testing to really understand the threat our members face. We want to make sure the scientific data is supportive and every possible health protocols and enhanced protections are in place before UAW members walk into the workplace,” Gamble stated.

“We are in support of [Michigan] Governor Whitmer extending the Stay at Home order. We strongly suggest to our companies in all sectors that an early May date is too soon and too risky to our members, their families and their communities.”

The concentration of Detroit Three facilities in the hard-hit state of Michigan, which has seen the death of several UAW workers spread between the three automakers, seems to have guided Gamble’s hand. Not that things will be business as usual when things do return.

“What we are doing is making sure the people who are going to lead in our plant facilities, and lead period, understand the protocols well enough,” GM’s global head of manufacturing, Gerald Johnson, told Reuters on Thursday. Johnson said returning workers will wear surgical masks and protective glasses, but added that any restart will be “limited and phased.”

The UAW’s statement forced the Detroit Three back a pace. Now, none of the three commit to any fixed return date.

“Ford and the UAW continue working closely on initiatives to keep our workforce safe when we restart our plants,” Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker told the Detroit Free Press. “We are continuing to assess public health conditions, government guidelines and supplier readiness to determine when the time is right to resume production.”

FCA fell in line, too, stating that it “will only restart operations with safe, secure and sanitized workplaces to protect all of our employees.”

North of the border, the situation is a little different. Jerry Dias, head of Canadian autoworkers union Unifor, said Thursday he’s “cautiously optimistic” that Detroit Three plants in that country can come online in early May.

“I’m going to have another call tomorrow with the heads of all of our locals at the auto plants to make sure things are still moving properly,” Dias told Automotive News Canada. “But as of now, we haven’t heard this big outcry saying, ‘Don’t do it, it’s too early.’ We haven’t heard any of that.”

Dias pointed to the differing impacts of the pandemic on both sides of the Detroit River. “The impact that we have had has been significant, but we haven’t had the types of deaths and realities that they’ve had to deal with, especially in Michigan,” he said.

While GM and Ford are, just like in the U.S., loathe to comment on a return date, FCA is said to reopen its Brampton and Windsor, ON assembly plants between May 4th and 18th.

[Image: Fiat Chrysler]