(WXYZ) — UAW President Shawn Fain encouraged union membership to stay strong during an address on Friday afternoon as the union's strike against the Big Three hit the five-week mark.
Fain didn't announce any new plants going on strike and admitted that the companies have offered record contracts, but said "There's more to be won."
"We have one tool and that’s solidarity," Fain said.
"Let me tell you what the companies' path to victory is. Fear, uncertainty, doubt and division," he added.
His address comes amid new offers from General Motors and Stellantis that brought them closer to Ford's current offer. Now, all three automakers are offering 23% wage increases over the life of the contract, but there are still differences and areas where Fain said the automakers need to improve.
"We’ve looked at their proposals, and in my opinion and in the opinion of the vice presidents and national negotiators, there is more to be won," Fain said.
Fain also called out the companies for saying that every time they make an offer, it's the best they can do, until a new offer gets made, with Fain saying that means there's more room to move.
See where the latest offers from all three automakers stand in the video at the top of the article.
"We agree. These are already record contracts, but they come at the end of decades of record decline," Fain said. "It’s not enough to be the best ever when auto workers have gone backward for the past decades."
He also spoke about Bill Ford Jr.'s comments earlier this week, and an update from General Motors yesterday. In the comments on Monday, Bill Ford Jr. said that the UAW should team up with Ford to take on foreign automakers.
"I want to be crystal clear on one thing. The days of the UAW and Ford being a team to fight other companies are over. We won’t be used," Fain said. "We will forever and always be own the side of working people everywhere. Non-union automakers are not the enemy. Those are our future family."
Fain went on to say that in the future, they're planning to organize non-union auto companies like they've never done before.
"The bottom line is we’ve got cards left to play, and they have money left to spend," Fain said. "If we stand together, if we have faith, we will win. Not just a good contract, not just a record contract, but a contract that turns the tide. A contract that finally, finally starts to make things right at the Big Three and for autoworkers everywhere."
