The UAW’s labor contracts with Ford, GM, and Stellantis expire on September 14, which is just a little over a month from now, and all events concerned are at the moment within the midst of renegotiating new offers, which entails submitting proposals forwards and backwards. In a reside occasion on Tuesday, UAW President Shawn Fain threw a type of proposals within the trash, from a multinational company referred to as Stellantis.

“That’s the place it belongs, within the trash,” Fain stated, “as a result of that’s what it’s.”

Reuters reported among the particulars about that proposal:

The July 27 firm doc seen by Reuters makes many proposals geared toward lowering absenteeism, which the automaker stated value it greater than 16,000 automobiles of misplaced manufacturing, or $217 million in misplaced income.

Stellantis additionally seeks to chop pension, health-care and different prices, saying that amid authorities electrical automobile guidelines, it “is crucial we discover methods to cut back the general fastened value construction of our enterprise.”

Stellantis stated the cumulative enhance in worker health-care prices over the subsequent 4 years is anticipated to be $613 million.

The UAW additionally stated the corporate opposes an finish to two-tier wages, a observe of newer hires getting paid a lot lower than veteran employees.

Now, these are simply proposals, and the union has its personal lofty proposals as effectively, a few of which can occur, a few of which can not. These proposals embody numbers which, if you happen to observe this story within the subsequent a number of weeks, you’ll be listening to a whole lot of. The union needs an enormous elevate for its members, for instance, as a result of the Large Three are raking in earnings lately, whereas administration will say one thing alongside the traces of, “Yeah, certain, we earn cash, but when we gave our workers extra of that cash we might be much less aggressive, yada yada yada.”

Each side will try and make the opposite look unreasonable. Right here at the moment, for instance, is an Automotive Information story about how administration on the Large Three simply isn’t so certain about all of this:

The UAW’s checklist of contract calls for — together with greater than 40 % raises for members — would enhance labor prices for the Detroit 3 by $45 billion to $80 billion a 12 months and threaten their future viability, in line with calculations by individuals acquainted with the businesses’ prices.

The calls for, which additionally embody pensions for all employees, extra retiree well being advantages and fewer hours for a similar pay, would almost triple labor charges to greater than $150 an hour per worker in any respect three corporations, the sources stated.

These numbers are so actual that nobody on the Large Three was prepared to connect their identify to them, and Auto Information was completely satisfied to run with the story anyway, as a result of that’s the nature of this sport.

There’s some aspect of kayfabe in all of this: The UAW has to get its members riled up, as a result of the UAW could wish to go on strike subsequent month, and having an engaged and pissed-off membership is a good way to get a greater contract. For administration, it’s extra of a easy bean-counting train; everybody has a boss. I want there was extra kayfabe, even, however as of this writing administration on the Large Three have but to reply to Fain by lighting the UAW’s proposals on hearth, or filming themselves tormenting a voodoo doll formed like Walter Reuther. Fain’s gotten issues off to an awesome begin, nevertheless.