UAW battles for salary increases for its autoworkers; the Big Three juggle dollars for their demands and the EV transition

Thursday morning at 12:00 AM, auto workers from Detroit’s Big Three automakers Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis went on strike under the unified efforts of their union, United Auto Workers (UAW), The Stand Up Strike. (Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed from the merger of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group. They carry the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands.)UAW President Shawn Fain remained adamant about the Sept. 14, 11:59 p.m. deadline for the nearly 150,000 members to have a deal in place with the Big Three; a few hours before the strike, he made a statement on Facebook live to the public about the absolute deadline if the demands were not met.Meanwhile, General Motors CEO Mary Barra told CBS Mornings they have presented four different offers to the UAW since they have been at the table with them since July 18, receiving 1,000 demands; Barra said GM couldn't be successful if the company met all of UAW's demands. The initial demands, she said, were over $100 billion.In a Facebook live broadcast on August 1, Fain presented "audacious" demands of members in a new four-year contract being negotiated with a Sept. 14 deadline to the Big Three: (see document below from UAW)elimination of wage tierssubstantial wage increasesrestoration of cost of living allowance increasesdefined benefit pension for all workersreestablishment of retiree medical benefitsthe right to strike over plant closureslimits on the use of temporary workersmore paid time offincreased benefits to current retirees