Good evening. Welcome to cnn tonight. The breaking news, we are less than one hour away, everyone, from what looks like maybe thousands of auto workers walking off the job. The deadline is midnight. You see the Countdown Clock right now. Dont turn away, that will be very important because it could mean that production could actually grind to a halt at general motors, at ford, at the company that builds jeep, ram, dodge and chrysler brands. The uaw president shawn fain saying just a little while ago if there is no deal by midnight, that means that three plants are going to go on strike. Tonight we call on three units to stand up and go on strike at midnight if we do not reach a tentative agreement in the next two hours. Were calling on gm, local 2250 in region four to stand up and strike. Were calling on stalantis, Toledo Assembly complex, region 2 b to stand up and strike. And were calling on Ford Michigan Assembly plant, final assembly in paint only local 100 in region 1 a to stand up and strike. These three units are being called to stand up and walk out on strike at midnight tonight. That is 57 minutes away, everyone. We have much more to come as that midnight deadline is quickly approaching us. Plus, for the first time now in American History, the Department Of Justice has now filed charges against the son of a sitting president. An adult child i would note of course. But hunter biden is accused of lying when he bought a gun. Why . They say that he falsely swore that he was not addicted to Illegal Drugs even though he was struggling with a Crack Cocaine Addiction at the time. Now, there is the threat of a Trial Inending of course his fathers reelection campaign. And we have news on another trial that could upend another president ial campaign, Fulton County georgia judge has rejected d. A. Fani willis plan to try donald trump and all of his codefendants together on october 23. That is like a month away, everyone. There is no trial date set as were sitting here today for the former president , but it is likely that trump wont actually face a trial until maybe next year, which of course brings us right into the heat of the race for the white house. But i want to begin with the looming Autoworkers Strike. Vanessa yurkevich is there. Reporter and just moments ago, shawn fain made the announcement about which three pla plants that will strike. The one in toledo, ohio, a ford plant in wayne, michigan, and a gm plant in missouri. That will represent about 12,700 members who will be walking out at midnight if the uaw cannot come to an agreement with the Big Three Automakers in the next hour. That is that announcement. Weve been clear midnight on the evening of September 14th is a deadline. Uaw family, that deadline is nearly here. Tonight for the first time in our history, we will strike all three of the big three at once. Reporter and were hearing from toward that they received a counterproposal at 8 00 p. M. This evening from the uaw after waiting days for that counter. T counterproposal at 8 00 p. M. This evening from the uaw after waiting days for that counter. And the uaw only came down slightly on their wage demands. Ford offered 20 over four years. We know the union from the getgo has been asking for 40 in wage increases over four years. And ford saying that the uaw made it clear that if they did not again to the unions counterproposal this evening, they would head on strike. And we are expecting shawn fain, uaw president , to be in wayne, michigan at that Ford Facility at midnight if this agreement does not come together in the next hour. Laura. Vanessa yurkevich, thank you so much. I want to bring in a man who those a lot about what is going on in these negotiating rooms. He is former uaw president bob king. Bob, thank you for being here. You saw shawn fain say they will strike all three at once. This is extraordinarily significant. A very big deal. Take me inside the negotiating room. Because you certainly have been there before. What is happening tonight . Well, hopefully the parties are working hard to find an agreement that would be good enough to be ratified by the membership. You know, it is frustrating because in my view the companies that played a lot of Brinkmanship Bargaining rather than good faith bargaining. They delayed and delayed and delayed giving their proposals to the uaw. There were minimalist proposals to begin with. And they would never ever, ever get ratified by the membership. And that is something that you have to realize, these are member demands. These are not shawns demands. He has been talking to the members and facebook live, so he is reflecting the frustration and anger of the membership. I hope the Companies Listen and give a far better offer than they have on the table so far. And the idea that were Talking About shawn fain, you have been in that position and the minimalist notions of what is being offered, the delay he has been vocal about as well. But you also heard likely earlier today the ford ceo Talking About farley, he had been blasting that very president shawn fain and he is claiming that fain is not negotiating in good faith. In fact here is the Chicago Tribune editorial board. Ill read what they have to say. Fain is the most belligerent union boss weve seen in a long time. So do you think that fain has gone too far in his Negotiating Tactics . As you say, these are member demands. Not at all. You see that bias in the tribune right away. The boss of the uaw is a membership. Shawn was elected by the membership. He reports to the membership. He has a responsibility to negotiate an agreement that he thinks honestly can get ratified. And it is sad to me that the companies arent really responding to what he is expressing to them on behalf of the membership. So i think that is an unfair Character Staigs and i think shawn and the rest of the leadership team, chuck browning, mike booth, ritchey, they are all doing a great job. They are doing a great job for this member ship and presenting their demand, voicing their concerns and their frustrations. Clearly the frustrations are being heard. We are 51 minutes away from a potential strike against all the big three all at once to use his own words. At the end of the day, people do want to work. They want to be able to have and they describe in terms of what their demands are the dignity of work that is appreciated financially and other ways that is comparable to what it ought to be. And one guest earlier on our programming talked about being elevated beyond not just to the middle class, but beyond the upper core is what is felt thinking about how hard they are working. But i want to understand given that people want to work, is it advantageous to have someone holding a hard line like this at the very top, is this what should happen in these negotiations . I think absolutely. Given the situation were in, given these Companies Made 250 billion in the last ten year, only because our sacrifices. I was there. We made the sacrifices. And to me, it is a tremendous level of injustice that members have been left with five different tiers . Nobody believes that you should be doing the same job on an Assembly Line getting different rates of job, same job working for the same corporation, same union, have different rates of pay. That is not morally sustainable. It has a tremendous impact on employee morale. Again, shawn is expressing on behalf of the membership what it will take to get an agreement to get ratified. It doesnt do and they should be wise enough and experienced enough to understand this. Im disappointed with jim farley honestly making the comments he did today. He has got to understand, he should understand, that shawns got to get an agreement that can get ratified by the membership. And they are a far way away from that right now in my view. Well, we are 49 minutes away from when they could actually walk and it could be debi debilitating as you well know which is part of the leverage that the people who actually are keeping the company afloat certainly have right now. Well see What Happens Next pep bob king, thank you so much. Thank you. I want to bring in the director of labor policy at Mackinaw Center for Public Policy. Thank you for being here on what is really a significant moment in history. The idea to quote the words of shawn fain, going against all the big three all at once. We havent seen this before even in a summer frankly where you have had strike after strike and a variety of different sectors or even the threat to strike in some significant business sectors of our xhun. And you say that if the uaw gets what they are asking for though, that it will hurt them in the long run. Can you explain why you feel that way . Absolutely. And ill offer a Counter Point to former president king which is while the uaw has to have a contract that it can ratify, stellantis and ford and gm each need a contract that they can compete with. And the terms being proposed by the uaw if accepted would put all three of the big three at genuine risk of going out of business in the near future. And we did hear from farley at one point Talking About if you had that significant pay raise, although he was challenged and rightfully so about the pay raise that people in his open position are in, Leadership Roles of these big three, but that he said that it would go bankrupt that they could not possibly compete, that it would take a huge toll on not just the bottom line but take the bottom out from underneath them. Is that true though . Because for some, they might say, well, hold on, isnt there is a price markup on some of these vehicles, arent there ways to account for the elevation of salaries in other areas . Is the ceo at least farley correct that there could very well be a bankruptcy in the future if they were to submit and meet these demands . I generally think so. Currently it is 65 an hour. Foreign competitors and nonunionized environments pay roughly 55. Tesla pays 45. And so the cost has to be built into electric vehicles that are already expensive, that are sitting on lots longer than traditional internal combustion vehicles, and that dont seem to be in particularly high demand right now. So when you look at that kind of Market Incentive with demand and supply, i think that you are in a scenario where unless evs become significantly more profitable for the big three, increased labor costs diminished sales could rapidly eat into their very existence. Certainly the union must be aware of the issues of how long they are on the lot, Market Incentives, the way the supply and demand have to be met to have a fair market value of not only labor but also the cost of goods in this economy. Do you think that the union is negotiating in good faith . I think that they are trying to get the best deal for their membership that they can and that is perfectly understandable. But when you look at the market and how evs have gone so far in this transition with the incentives, mandates that various states are issuing, the money coming in from the federal government that is propping this industry up, despite all of that, ford still lost 4. 5 billion on its Eve Division Thi year and that is in a year of record profits. As we move into purely an electric market, if that trend continues, that isis a huge problem for the big three. And this is part of a targeted strike. So historic within the historic nature of what were Talking About now. So good to talk to you, thank you so much. Thanks for having me. And we have a lot more to come on the looming auto workers strike. This is so significant, the deadline now less than an hour away. And one of the Big Questions everyone is asking now, what would this do, what could this do to the u. S. Economy. Love can get a little messy. Good thing theres resolve. Love the love. Resolve the mess. 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This too. That was easy. When stains and odors pile up, its got to be tide. No deal yet and were less than 45 minutes away from a potential unite the allhe autow strike. And it could up end the u. S. Economy. Just a ten day strike could cost the economy, get this, 5. 6 billion. I did say a ten day. 5. 6 billion. It could also send michigan into a recession and drive up inflation. I want to drive into this with professor of economics and Public Policy at the university of michigan. You dont want to hear me try to recite the laws of the economy. I got the supply, demand that is it. And i want to talk to you about just how long before the u. S. Economy could start to feel the pressure of a strike this significant. I really want to try to calm some of the viewers down a little bit. One thing that is important to recognize is the company has got a big stake here in trying to convince the federal government this is a big deal, that if the federal government doesnt help solve this problem, it will tank the economy. The union has a big stake in trying to convince everyone is this a big economic deal because they want ford and gm stockholders to put pressure on them to solve it. But the reality is that this is not a Manufacturing Economy that we live in. The auto sector as a whole is 0. 7 of the entire u. S. Economy. The unionized sector is half of that. If they shut down the plants, that will definitely inflict some pain, but for most people if it is hard to get a car this month, what are you going to do . Probably wait until strike is over and buy the car then. Or maybe buy from a Different Company who is not closed. So i think the overall macroeconomic impacts here, impact on your viewers directly to them is not going to be that great. What about the fact that this is a targeted strike . Not every single facility is being looked at. The notion of a targeted strike i think for many people is quite unique in that i grew up in saint paul, minnesota a few blocks away from a toward Assembly Plant and i remember thinking about this is just one small part of the overall pie. They are strategic in being targeting particular areas. Does that impact how we should view this in front of the 10,000 foot view . Absolutely. I was Talking About the big picture, the whole economy because youve got viewers all over the country. Now im coming to you from michigan. It is a much bigger part of our economy right here. And so i feel quite confident that the gets throughout most of the country on average are not going to be very large. Of course the effects on the striking workers, the effects on the auto Parts Manufacturers in the surrounding cities and effects in particular parts of the economy, in particular the midwest, are going to be a lot more intense. I still think that we dont want to overstate the case, but well feel the pain here in the midwest and if you are somewhere else, you are probably enjoying a warmer winter and you are not worrying quite as much about the strike. That is part of the interesting notion of our national economy. And the leverage. And why it is so significant to certain parts of the population. That is part of what they are Talking About though, in that that they can feel as though they are being disregarded because what is acutely felt and experienced by workers in this industry and as you call a nonManufacturing Economy, because it is not universally experienced for the workers, they feel as though they get the short end of the stick time and time again. But then the people in the economy lean in when they talk about prices of cars of course. And you mentioned buying a