The three U.S. automakers say they are already at a disadvantage to nonunion rivals while labor leaders hope that big gains in negotiations will inspire workers in Southern states to unionize.
The executive chairman of Ford Motor counsels patience as his company negotiates with the United Automobile Workers union, which has shut three of his company’s plants.
Mr. Ford, the executive chairman of Ford Motor, said nonunion automakers would make gains against Michigan automakers because of strikes by the United Automobile Workers union.
The United Automobile Workers union refrained from expanding the strikes at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis but said it could do so at any time.
The company said it had reached the limit of what it could offer to the United Automobile Workers union, which has expanded its strike to Ford’s largest plant.
The United Automobile Workers said on Friday it had secured an important concession from General Motors regarding the contracts of workers at battery factories.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit accusing the carmaker of mistreating Black employees at its factory in California.
The former president will be making a campaign stop in Michigan on Wednesday amid the United Automobile Workers’ strike. He has both appeased unions and sought to circumvent them.
President Biden’s trip comes a day before former President Donald J. Trump arrives in Michigan, as the two men offer dueling messages to a powerful voting bloc in a key swing state.
Their responses obscure the nature of the conflict.