Back in the Fight: Our Generation’s Defining Moment at the Big Three
This week, top officers of the UAW participated in the union’s first-ever Unionwide Town Hall, themed “Back in the Fight: Our Generation’s Defining Moment at the Big Three.”
The National Town Hall is a new addition to the UAW constitution, passed by delegates at the 2022 Constitutional Convention, “to ensure an open flow of information and better communication with the UAW’s active and retired membership.”
President Shawn Fain laid out the union’s position towards the Detroit automakers. “These companies have been extraordinarily profitable, and our members have created incredible value for these companies during some really hard, and dangerous years,” Fain said. “They can afford our demands, and we expect them to pony up.”
Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock noted, “These companies can afford all of our demands. Since the Great Recession, as a result of our members’ hard work, the Big Three have been amassing an ocean of money.”
Vice President Rich Boyer spoke about the need to end the tier system in the upcoming contracts. “Tiers weaken us and undermine our solidarity by dividing us in our workplaces. Tiers must come to an end.”
Discussing the need to win back the reinstatement of COLA, Vice President Chuck Browning stated, “Inflation has gone up three times as much as our wages in the past three and a half years. That’s unacceptable, and unsustainable.”
Vice President Mike Booth spoke on the union prioritizing job security during the transition to electric vehicles. “It must be a just transition. That means workers aren’t left behind. The transition must do right by our members, our families, and our communities.”
