Detroit, MI – UAW commends the U.S. Department of Labor for its swift investigation and fining of SL Alabama LLC, a supplier of parts to Hyundai and Kia. The DOL found that the company illegally employed children as young as thirteen and was fined $30,076 to address their child labor violations. The Alabama Department of Labor also fined SL Alabama and JK USA, a temporary employment agency, $17,800 each for violating state laws that forbid underage children in manufacturing jobs. The children were hired through JK USA, a temporary employment agency which did not provide any required documentation. “This distressing ...
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President Ray Curry BY UAW PRESIDENT RAY CURRY In 1882,a union man, Peter J. McGuire, founder of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and an early supporter of the creation of the American Federation of Labor, suggested setting aside a day for a “general holiday for the laboring classes.” Almost 130 years later, Labor Day continues to celebrate those who did the work and the magnificent job they have done in building what I will always believe to be, the greatest nation on Earth. One hundred and thirty years later, America will again thank those who figured it ...
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It is time that this nation works for working men and women again. Too long have those who make the American economy run been left on the sidelines. Too long have working families struggled to make ends meet. Too long have Americans been forced to work two and three jobs just to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Too long has our nation’s wealth been concentrated in the hands of a few. It is time to pass the PRO Act in the Senate and send it to the president to sign into law. The House ...
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Every year, as I think about the Thanksgiving holiday, I always try to concentrate on the things that we as a union, and our sisters and brothers in solidarity everywhere, have to be thankful for. And, as always, there is much to be thankful for. But what to say about 2020? A year that has brought so much sickness with COVID-19, so much social upheaval and unrest and a presidential election that has only underscored the deep divides in how our nation is to go forward. Put it this way, no one I know signed up for 2020. This year ...
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Since its inception, since we got here as a nation, America has been about the right to allow its citizens to pick and choose our best and most qualified people for public office. We took a while to get here. We started out with some states allowing only white male adult property owners to vote, with non-whites and women and non-property owners on the outside looking in. The fact is, we fought and died to figure this out, and here in 2020 we still have some sorting out on the details to go, but the idea of government for the ...
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Secretary-Treasurer Ray Curry By Ray Curry, Secretary-Treasurer, UAW America’s Postal service has been an essential institution that has connected every one of us as Americans even before we were a nation independent of Great Britain. The most American of traditions Benjamin Franklin was appointed our first Postmaster General in 1775. This democratic treasure, which has proven as reliable as it has self-sufficient, was a model for how government service should work. Its rich history is America’s history of adaptability, ingenuity and grit… Read more on blackpressusa.com >>>
Walter P. Reuther is an icon and an American hero of the working class. For those of us at the UAW, there are almost no words powerful enough to describe what he means to this union and our members. And for me, as the current president of the UAW, I am so humbled and inspired by his vision, his life’s work, his tireless fight for human and civil rights and simply put, the example he set as an extraordinary human being. Today, we mark the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that tragically took the lives of UAW President Walter ...
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What does it really mean to have a voice in your workplace? The extraordinary global crisis that we are all facing has put this into sharp focus. And at the forefront of this pandemic are essential workers — those front line employees in hospitals, grocery stores, transportation industries, security and firefighters, warehouses, construction sites and more. For those who are union members with a collective bargaining agreement, their voices are heard. The power of union representation allows them to demand safety improvements, have a say in their workplace, their schedules and so much more. In short, they have a voice ...
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President Rory Gamble I’d like to begin this blog with a couple of comments about an issue that I feel very passionate about. In my more than 40 years with the UAW, I have had the benefit of very good health care coverage. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for so many Americans across this nation. Our national health care crisis is truly a disgrace and something we are compelled to remedy. When hard working men and women can’t afford to go to the doctor or are making decisions between buying food and filling life-saving prescriptions, we know something is ...
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As we head full swing into the 2020 Presidential Election year, let’s take a hard look at how the men and women of the United States labor force have fared under this administration. Social Security in danger of cuts: Federal worker pensions have been targeted to offset deficit-inflating tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans. Social Security benefit rules are changing to encourage workers to retire later, meaning an aging workforce with increased medical needs. Many employers are increasing retiree costs for health care or phasing out coverage altogether. Medicare isn’t available until age 65 and doesn’t cover all medical ...
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