UAW expands strikes against GM, Stellantis

(Reuters) -The United Auto Workers (UAW) union said on Friday it would expand its coordinated strike against General Motors Co (NYSE:) and Stellantis (NYSE:) but added that it had made real progress in talks with Ford Motor (NYSE:).

The escalation comes as the labor group and the automakers remain apart on terms of a new contract covering 146,000 workers.

Here is what industry experts are saying about the expansion of the strike that began last week:

BRANDON PIZZURRO, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INVESTMENTS AT GUIDESTONE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT:

“Any type of thawing in the talks between the unions and the automakers is worth cheering since they employ a lot of people, certainly the large companies such as Ford that do have an impact on supply chains and everything else. So, when you can see them maybe coming to a resolution, clearly the stock is reacting positively to that potential news that allows them to get over the hurdle of getting workers back in the factory.”

DANIEL IVES, ANALYST AT WEDBUSH SECURITIES:

“This becomes a full on tidal wave of strikes for GM and Stellantis. Now the worst case fears are coming true.”

“This is like union 101 in terms of divide and conquer and put more pressure on GM and Stellantis. But devil’s in the details because if Ford took a nightmare deal that could potentially derail their business model permanently.”

“I think GM and Stellantis are going to fight this. There are business model differences with Ford and they have more to lose.”

ARTHUR WHEATON, DIRECTOR OF LABOR STUDIES AT CORNELL’S SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS:

“I think it is a great strategy going after the distribution centers.”

“Car dealerships make money off of people coming in to service their cars. That’s how they make a lot of their money.”

“Ford has a very long history of having much better labor relations skills and relationship with the union than either General Motors or what’s now called Stellantis. Way ahead.”

“If they get that deal at Ford, there’s a good chance they will be able to get most of that if not all of that at GM and then my fingers are crossed they’ll get something good at Stellantis. But I am less confident Stellantis can work it out because they are by far the worst of the three with labor relations.”

ITAY MICHAELI, ANALYST AT CITI RESEARCH:

“The reported progress at Ford is encouraging, suggesting that the Detroit Three could perhaps reach a labor agreement sooner than some have been expecting (i.e. day/weeks, not months) – though it does appear much work remains to be done.”

“Relative to a scenario of all-out strikes at full-size truck plants, today’s update seems somewhat more encouraging in terms of a likely immediate incremental financial impact and overall negotiation status.”

SAM FIORANI, VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL VEHICLE FORECASTING AT AUTOFORECAST SOLUTIONS:

“The corporate structure of GM and Stellantis are more public-shareholder focused, whereas Ford’s stockholders are largely one family. It acts like more of a privately owned company than the other two. GM and Stellantis are looking at stockholder value and Ford is looking a lot more long-term that they have to make friends with (workers).”

“The fact that Ford was left out of this current wave of new strikes is a sign that the UAW is starting to look at this as a negotiation and not as the war they set it up to be. This puts pressure on GM and Stellantis to come up with some proposals that are closer to what Ford already has.”

“Hopefully, since Ford is in the lead, it’ll get them to the table to finalize an agreement, which can be a blueprint for the others and get us back towards normal industry.”

MARICK MASTERS, PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY:

“I think the parties have shown some movement, and that there is a deal that can be looked upon as something that could result in the ending of this strike.”

ANDREA KUPFER SCHNEIDER, PROFESSOR OF LAW AND DIRECTOR OF THE KUKIN PROGRAM FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION:

“In sort of the divide and conquer, or at least in demonstrating that there are rewards to Ford, and thereby signaling to others that when some of the demands are met, it’s not that the strike against Ford is ending, but that at least it will not expand. And so it also allows the union the flexibility to really ratchet up the strike, or ratchet down the strike in very nuanced ways.”