DETROIT — Last month, before UAW President Shawn Fain's election victory was official, I asked Ford CEO Jim Farley if he was concerned about the aggressive tone from the person who may lead contract negotiations later this year.
He didn't seem too worried.
"I'm really confident in our relationship with the UAW," Farley said. "We've worked really hard on it for decades and decades; it's a family company."
But if there's one clear message out of the union's three-day convention here last week, it's that past relationships won't matter like they used to — at least not in any positive way — when negotiators sit down at the bargaining table this fall.
Just listen to the rhetoric from last week.
Fain opened the convention, Monday, March 27, with his best Michael Buffer impression, shouting "Let's get ready to rumble ... !" before talking of preparing for "war against the one and only true enemy."
On Tuesday, newly elected Vice President Rich Boyer, who leads the Stellantis department, spoke of the union balling up its fist and not letting the company rip apart its hand knuckle by knuckle, citing the recent idling of Belvidere Assembly.
"We've got to start punching back," he said.
Margaret Mock, the union's new Secretary-Treasurer, promised "the spark of 'fight back' will become a raging fire in our union's determination to move forward and to win for our members what greedy CEOs have stolen from them."
I've covered multiple bargaining conventions in my decade of reporting. They're unity-building rallies meant to pump up the membership, and tough talk is expected. In 2019, then-president (and future federal inmate) Gary Jones spoke of "fighting" for members.
But there's a strong case to be made that things could be different this time.
New Region 9 Director Daniel Vicente, a young reform candidate who came into leadership directly off the shop floor, spoke of "a fire burning in the labor movement" right now. Ambitious organizing drives by workers at Starbucks, Amazon and other companies prove his point.
Over the past few years, UAW bargainers representing workers at John Deere and CNH both struck their companies — with CNH workers on picket lines for nine months — and both won significant benefits and job commitments as a result.
You can bet the Detroit 3 bargaining teams are taking notes.
Chuck Browning, UAW VP of the Ford department, also leads the John Deere and CNH departments.
And while the union's demands sound similar to past rounds — meaningful raises, elimination of tiers, no plant closures — there's now more incentive for the leadership to push the companies harder.
In the past, even if the union failed to win everything it wanted, the executive board didn't have to worry about a disgruntled membership brooming them out of office. Now, with direct elections, that's a real possibility.
Fain's future will likely hinge on his success or failure with these contracts.
The Detroit 3 should pay attention to the new leaders' signals.
The past relationships Farley spoke of may not matter much anymore and could even be a disadvantage against UAW leadership intent on dispelling any notion of cozy dealings with management.
Ford, GM and Stellantis will face a more emboldened, militant union that's ready to go on offense.
Case in point? Fain closed the convention with a speech imploring members to "seize the moment," ending his remarks with "Right Now" by Van Halen blaring over the speakers.
"We're done taking the scraps," Fain said. "It's time to fight."
