NEW UAW VIDEO, “BROKEN PROMISES,” REVEALS THE ROOTS OF THE STAND UP STRIKE AGAINST THE BIG THREE AUTOMAKERS

DETROIT – The UAW just released “Broken Promises,” a new video that reveals the deep roots of the union’s ongoing strike against the Big Three automakers.

The video can be accessed at this link, and the media is invited to use the footage.

The video, narrated by UAW President Shawn Fain, describes the deal made during the Great Recession when the auto industry was on the brink of collapse. As Fain says, “The deal was, UAW members take some short-term cuts for the long-term survival of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.”

Those short-term cuts have lasted 15 years. Autoworkers hired after 2007 have been denied the pensions and retiree healthcare coverage won by generations of UAW members before them. The starting wages of post-2007 workers were slashed, and it now takes eight years for a full-time UAW member to reach top pay.

The majority of UAW members at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis are currently stuck in this second tier.

“Broken Promises” features footage of President Joe Biden’s historic visit last week to a UAW picket line in Belleville, Michigan. Speaking to Big Three strikers, Biden says, “You saved the auto industry back in 2008 and before. Made a lot of sacrifices, gave up a lot. And the companies were in trouble. And now they’re doing incredibly well. And guess what? You should be doing incredibly well, too.”

The Big Three made a quarter-trillion dollars in North American profits over the last ten years. They made $21 billion in total profits in just the first six months of this year.

The UAW launched its historic Stand Up Strike against all three automakers when the contracts expired on Sept. 14, and 25,000 UAW members are now on strike at 43 Big Three facilities in 21 states. Click here for a full list and map of the facilities on strike.

THE UAW STANDS IN SOLIDARITY WITH KAISER WORKERS

UAW President Shawn Fain released the following statement on healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente walking out on strike: 

“Today, we stand in solidarity with the 75,000 members of our union family who are on strike at Kaiser. Whether you work in a hospital, or behind a desk, or on an assembly line, your fight is our fight.

We all deserve dignity on and off the job. We all deserve a future for our families and communities. We all deserve our fair share of the economy we, as working people, create and run.

To our union family on strike at Kaiser, the UAW has your back.” 

NEW POLL: SUPERMAJORITY OF AMERICANS SUPPORT UAW OVER AUTOMAKERS IN FIGHT AGAINST BIG THREE CORPORATE GREED

According to a new poll, nearly four out of five Americans support the UAW over the Big Three automakers in the ongoing Stand Up Strike. Across partisan and demographic lines, a supermajority of Americans are standing with the UAW in the union’s fight against corporate greed at the Big Three.

The poll, conducted by Navigator Research, suggests that support for UAW members has increased since the strike started on September 15.

  • A Gallup poll conducted in August showed that 75 percent of the public sided with union members against the companies.
  • The new poll finds that 78 percent of Americans support the UAW. That includes registered Republicans who back the UAW 69 percent to 31 percent over the Big Three.

African American and Asian-American respondents show the strongest support for the strikers, with 85 percent of each group backing the UAW. White Americans also overwhelmingly side with the union, with 75 percent supporting the workers.

The Navigator Research poll also highlights the public’s overwhelming support for collective bargaining and the right to strike, including 74 percent of Republican voters.

The UAW’s Stand Up Strike is a new approach to striking. Instead of striking all plants all at once, select locals have been called on to “Stand Up” and walk out on strike. If the automakers fail to make progress in negotiations, more locals are called on to Stand Up and join the strike against that company.

The strike began with walkouts at three assembly plants in three states. The strike has since expanded to five assembly plants and 38 parts distribution facilities in 21 states across the country. Currently, 25,000 UAW members are on strike at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

The Big Three made a quarter-trillion dollars in North American profits over the last decade. They made $21 billion in total profits in just the first six months of this year. Over the last four years, average pay for Big Three CEOs has jumped 40 percent, but UAW wages have risen only 6 percent. UAW members are asking for a fair share of the profits they’ve made.

DETROIT CASINO WORKERS VOTE 99% “YES” TO AUTHORIZE A STRIKE

As they negotiate for higher wages, workers vote overwhelmingly in favor of strike authorization at all three Detroit casinos

Detroit— This evening at 09:40pm, the Detroit Casino Council announced that members from MGM Grand Detroit, Hollywood at Greektown and MotorCity casinos — voted 99% “yes” to authorize a strike, if deemed necessary by the worker negotiating committee. Workers flooded the Teamsters Hall today between 7:00am-9:00pm to cast their ballots with the results revealed shortly after the polls closed and ballots were counted.

After the COVID shutdowns, Detroit casino workers sacrificed raises and shouldered heavier workloads so the industry could recover. In September 2020, the DCC agreed to a 3-year contract extension with minimal wage increases to help their employers get back on their feet. Following the end of COVID restrictions and the legalization of online gaming, industry gaming revenues have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels to a new record high, but Detroit’s casino workers are getting left behind. Workers are hoping to win contract gains that would bring Detroit casino jobs back in line with the standard of good jobs that were promised to hospitality workers when voters approved legalizing casino gaming in 1996 and the City Council later authorized the three casinos.

In 2022, the Detroit casino industry generated $2.27 billion in gaming revenue through in-person and online gaming, the highest ever in the history of the industry. So far in 2023, reports from January through August show that revenues are even higher than last year, on track for another record-breaking year.

Last month, MGM Grand Detroit’s parent company, MGM Resorts International, reported an “all-time record” for company-wide net revenues in the second quarter.[iv] In 2022, both MGM Resorts International and Hollywood at Greektown’s parent company, PENN Entertainment, reported higher revenues and profits in the US than pre-pandemic.[v] Since the pandemic, the two companies have spent heavily on stock buybacks to benefit their Wall Street shareholders, with MGM spending over $5.60 billion and PENN spending $750 million so far.

Workers have been negotiating since early September, with a focus on securing wage increases that could make Detroit’s casino jobs family-sustaining jobs once again. Other issues include strengthening retirement and securing protections for workers impacted by the implementation of new technology. The strike authorization secured in Friday’s vote puts the decision of whether and when to strike in the hands of the Detroit Casino Council (DCC) worker negotiating committee, which is made up of 5 unions that represent most of the workers at the 3 casinos: UNITE HERE Local 24, UAW, Teamsters Local 1038, Operating Engineers Local 324, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters. The DCC could call for strikes as soon as mid-October when contracts expire.

“Workers are fed up in an economy that is broken: costs keep going up, but when profits came back to the gaming industry, they didn’t go into workers’ pockets. Just like auto workers, Blue Cross Blue Shield staff, UPS workers, writers, and hotel workers, Detroit casino workers are considering all options available to make sure one job in a Detroit casino is enough to raise a family on. We expect the casinos to heed our concerns to avoid a strike,” said Nia Winston, UNITE HERE Local 24 President.

“Detroit’s casino workers of the Detroit Casino Council voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike today because we’re the people who worked with the companies through COVID and put in the time, energy, hard work. The casino companies are making more than their fair share. But we’re not making ours. The message our members are sending to these companies is that the casino workers at MGM Grand, MotorCity and Hollywood at Greektown are ready to stand together and fight for what we deserve. I’m proud of my coworkers for taking this step to take care of their families and enjoy their lives,” said Terri Sykes, UAW Local 7777 President, MotorCity Casino table games.

Members of the worker negotiating committee and union officials are available for interviews. Please contact to coordinate.

Contact: Tiffany Ten Eyck, 313-515-1807, tteneyck@unitehere.org

ZF WORKERS IN ALABAMA MARK 10 DAYS ON STRIKE

Over 100 union workers at ZF Chassis Systems in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, went on strike on Wednesday, September 20, demanding the end of a tier wage system and lower healthcare costs.

The striking workers, UAW Local 2083 members, recently rejected a fourth contract proposal by the company which again failed to address workers’ core demands.

“Every contract since the Great Recession, this company keeps taking and taking and they never want to give back to the workers,” says Tammy Slayton, who has worked at ZF for nine years. “We’re trying to get rid of the tier system. That’s our number one issue. We want everyone making the same wages.”

Starting pay for new hires at ZF is only $15.50 an hour, with a top wage rate of $18.80. Tier one workers top out at $20.30 an hour.

Slayton says she works with someone who has eighteen years seniority at the company who started at the company making $18.05. “He makes $20.30 today,” she says. “After eighteen years!”

“Inflation is hammering these workers,” Local 2083 President Ronnie Mills says. “It’s time for ZF to do right the right thing. Our members just want what is fair. They don’t want the whole pie. They just want a piece of the pie.”

ZF Chassis Systems produces axles for a nearby Mercedes-Benz factory. “We make 425 axles per shift, 850 per day, six days a week.” Mills says. “We’ve made this company so much money and the company still refuses to treat us right.”

The Tuscaloosa ZF facility runs two shifts, and implements an alternate work schedule, which allows the company to avoid paying overtime even though workers are putting in well over 40 hours a week, working 10-to-12-hour shifts.

New worker turnover is a major problem at the facility as well, due to the low wages being paid by ZF and the physical nature of the jobs being performed. “Have you ever picked up an axle?” Slayton asks.

“There’s absolutely no reason why this company can’t afford to give Local 2083 members what they deserve,” Region 8 Director, Tim Smith, says. “ZF is making billions of dollars. It’s more of the same corporate greed we’re seeing all over our economy.”

Despite the challenges facing Local 2083 members, Slayton said workers at ZF feel empowered by the union’s more aggressive approach as of late. “This company hasn’t seen a union team that isn’t going to back down,” Slayton says. “But that’s exactly what they are seeing now. Our Region 8 leadership has our back in this fight against ZF and we know they’ll support us until we’ve won the contract we deserve.”

“The morale on the picket line has been great,” Mills says. “I’m proud of these workers for standing up to the company and holding the line. Very proud.”

UAW EXPANDS STAND UP STRIKE AGAINST GENERAL MOTORS AND FORD AT NOON EASTERN

DETROIT – UAW President Shawn Fain just announced on Facebook Live that the union will expand its Stand Up Strike against General Motors and Ford at GM’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly and Ford’s Chicago Assembly. An additional 7,000 UAW members at these two plants will join the strike at Noon Eastern Time. This brings the total number of Big Three strikers to 25,000 members at 43 facilities in 21 states.

There was no additional strike action announced at Stellantis, due to considerable progress in bargaining moments before the broadcast.

Following is an excerpt from Fain’s prepared remarks describing the status of negotiations. You can view the remarks as delivered at the UAW’s Facebook and YouTube channels:

“Over the last week, the vice presidents, your national negotiators, and my office have been working night and day to bargain a record contract that reflects the record profits we have produced for the Big Three.

Sadly, despite our willingness to bargain, Ford and GM have refused to make meaningful progress at the table.

That is why at noon Eastern today, we will expand our strike to these two companies.

To be clear, negotiations have not broken down.

We are still talking with all three companies.

I am still very hopeful that we can reach a deal that reflects the incredible sacrifices and contributions our members have made over the last decade.

But I also know that what we win at the bargaining table depends on the power we build on the job.

It’s time to use that power.

That is why I’m calling on an additional 7,000 members across Ford and GM to go on strike starting at noon Eastern today.

I am calling on Ford’s Chicago Assembly plant to Stand Up and go on strike.

And I’m calling GM’s Lansing Delta Township to Stand Up and go out on strike.

Let me be clear and this is important: Lansing Regional Stamping WILL CONTINUE WORKING.

Our courageous members at these two plants are the next wave of reinforcements in our fight for record contracts.

We are NOT calling on any additional members at Stellantis to go on strike.

Moments before this broadcast, Stellantis made significant progress on the 2009 COLA, the right to not cross a picket line, as well as the right to strike over product commitments, plant closures, and outsourcing moratoriums.

We are excited about this momentum at Stellantis and hope it continues.

Until then, we will keep building our Arsenal of Democracy.

And we will win. Our strategy is working.

As the President of the United States recently put it, UAW members “saved the automobile industry back in 2008. We made a lot of sacrifices. We gave up a lot. And the companies were in trouble. But now they’re doing incredibly well.  And guess what?  We should be doing incredibly well too.”

Over the last ten years, the Big Three have made a record quarter of a TRILLION dollars in North American profits.

Over the last six months, the Big Three have made a record $21 BILLION in total profits.

We knew going into this fight that the road ahead was going to be difficult.

And we knew that it was unlikely this would be quick.

To quote the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

UAW family, you are the force that bends that arc.

Our anger is righteous. Our struggle is just.

We are fed up with corporate greed.

We are fed up with corporate excess.

We are fed up with breaking our bodies for companies that take more and more and give less and less.

And as of noon eastern today, 25,000 of us will be on strike for a better future.

To all our community and political allies, we invite you to join our picket lines.

To our UAW family still working on the job, keep monitoring for status quo violations and keep refusing voluntary overtime.

And keep showing the companies that you are ready to Stand Up when called.

When we win this fight, when we right the wrongs of the past 15 years, and when we set a new course for future generations, it won’t be because of any President.

Not the UAW President. Not the President of the United States.

It will be because ordinary people did extraordinary things.

Our solidarity is our strength.

And right now, our strength is the hope of working-class people everywhere.

Let’s Stand Up and win this thing. For ourselves. For our families. For our communities. For our country. And for our future.”

NEW UAW VIDEO ON COMBATING PLANT CLOSURES FEATURES FOOTAGE OF DONALD TRUMP FALSELY PROMISING AUTOWORKERS HE WOULD SAVE THEIR JOBS

 

DETROIT – The UAW released a new video, “Hometowns,” about the union’s fight in negotiations to stop plant closures that have devastated communities across the Midwest. The video features 2017 footage of Donald Trump falsely promising autoworkers in Ohio he would save their jobs. The ex-president is holding a rally today at a non-union factory in Metro Detroit.

The video can be accessed at this link, and the media is invited to use the footage.

The Big Three have closed or spun off 65 auto plants over the last 20 years. “Hometowns” shows the damage those closings have caused and focuses on two UAW contract proposals that would keep auto plants open:

  • The right to strike over plant closures, a right UAW members have never had but have now won at Ford.
  • The Working Family Protection Program, which would ensure that automakers trying to close a plant must pay UAW members to keep working.

“Hometowns” mentions recent closures at all three companies, but looks most closely at the personal toll of General Motors’ shuttering of the Lordstown Assembly Plant in 2019.

UAW Region 2B Director David Green followed his father into GM Lordstown and felt he had “hit the lottery” when he got the job. But Green was president of the local union as GM shut the plant and saw the ripple effects that ravaged the local economy. Dustin Rose, a former Lordstown worker who grew up near the plant, saw friends and family scatter when it closed and went through a divorce when he had to transfer to a GM facility in Western New York.

GM, Ford and Stellantis have all been highly profitable for more than a decade, but they continue to close plants. The Big Three made a quarter-trillion dollars in North American profits over the last ten years. They made $21 billion in total profits in the first six months of this year.

The UAW has said record profits should mean record contracts and put its Members’ Demands on the table back in mid-July. All three automakers took more than a month to make their economic counterproposals and have so far failed to reach fair agreements.

The UAW launched its historic Stand Up Strike against all three automakers when the contracts expired on Sept. 14, and 18,600 UAW members are now on strike at 41 Big Three facilities in 21 states. Click here for a full list and map of the facilities on strike.

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UAW EXPANDS STAND UP STRIKE AGAINST GENERAL MOTORS AND STELLANTIS

DETROIT – UAW President Shawn Fain just announced on Facebook Live that the union, at noon today, will expand its Stand Up Strike against General Motors and Stellantis at 38 locations across 20 states. On Monday, Fain had announced that the union would expand its Stand Up Strike against automakers that did not make substantial progress toward a fair agreement. Neither company did. Approximately 5,600 Big Three workers will join the approximately 13,000 who are already on strike.

The union is continuing to strike Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., but is not expanding its strike against the Dearborn-based automaker. The UAW and Ford did make substantial progress in bargaining over the last week.

Following is an excerpt from Fain’s prepared remarks describing the status of negotiations. You can view the remarks as delivered at the UAW’s Facebook and YouTube channels:

“As you know, we gave our Members Demands to the company two months ago. They wasted a whole month failing to respond. But there has been movement. In particular, we’ve made real progress at Ford. We’re not there yet, but I want you to see the direction that Ford is going, and what we think that means for our contract fight.

At Ford, Rawsonville Components and Sterling Axle employees will now be on the same wage scale as assembly workers. We have eliminated that entire wage tier. At Ford, we have officially reinstated the COLA that was suspended in 2009.

UAW family, many people said this couldn’t be done, but we just did it. We have also won, for the first time in our history, the right to strike over plant closures during the life of our agreement. I don’t have to tell you that this is an important victory in our fight to save our jobs, keep families together, and keep our communities from being gutted.

At Ford we’ve also won additional job security for our members in the event of indefinite layoff. If that happens, our members, including temporary workers, will now receive income security for up to two years, with healthcare.

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THE STAND UP STRIKE BEGINS AT THE BIG THREE

UAW family and allies — 

A few minutes ago, thousands of UAW members at Ford, GM, and Stellantis walked out, marking the beginning of the Stand Up Strike. 

UAW members at GM Wentzville Assembly, Local 2250 in Region 4 are ON STRIKE.  

UAW members at Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex, Local 12 in Region 2B are ON STRIKE.  

UAW members at Ford Michigan Assembly Plant – Final Assembly and Paint, Local 900 in Region 1A are ON STRIKE. 

This fight is our generation’s defining moment. Not just at the Big Three, but across the entire working class. 

We will stand up for ourselves.
We will stand up for our families.
We will stand up for our communities. 

Join us. 

Despite Challenges of Strike, Local 997 Members Remain Committed to Helping Community

NEWTON, IA – As UAW Local 997 members continue to walk the picket line on strike against Thombert in Newton, Iowa, they still make sure to find the time to give back to their local community.

While picketing last week, strikers were thinking of ways they could help out local residents. “One of the workers on strike has a son who owns a lawn mowing business,” said Local 997 member, David Davidson, who has worked at Thombert for almost four years. “His son offered to let us use his equipment if we wanted to help these folks mow their lawns. We thought, ‘we’re already out here, why wouldn’t we?’” Several local members spent the day mowing and cleaning up the yards in the neighborhood.

Region 4 Assistant Director, Lucas DeSpain, said he wasn’t surprised when he heard about strikers’ efforts. “Local 997 members have a lot of community support,” he noted. “And much of that is because of their work within the community, which continues to date.”

 

MAKE A DONATION TO SUPPORT STRIKING UAW LOCAL 997 MEMBERS

 

Thombert is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of polyurethane wheels and tires for narrow aisle lift trucks. Local 997 members have been on strike since August 1. They are striking for fair wages and to stop the company from attempting to implement higher healthcare costs. Thombert is proposing that Accident and Sickness benefits for workers begin on the eighth day of a claim instead of the first day, as is the current practice. Local President, Steve Wertz, said the current policy has been in effect since 1991.

Work-life balance is also a major issue at the company. Workers have been forced to work six days a week every other weekend for years. “That kind of schedule ends up taking its toll on you,” Davidson said.

Local 997 President, Steve Wertz, said that seeing how committed his members are to each other and to the community during the strike only reinforces his belief in the power of solidarity.

“This membership is out there 24/7, walking this line for a fair contract and I could not be more proud of them,” Wertz remarked. “I really mean that. They are a solid group of Brothers and Sisters and they are paving the way for the younger generation. “

UAW President, Shawn Fain, praised the actions of Local 997 members on a recent Facebook Live event: “Even as they’re fighting cutbacks in vacation time and disability benefits, they’re cutting the lawns of their neighbors. Solidarity is the foundation of our union and service to the community is at our core. The Thombert strikers of Local 997, Unit 8, are proving it.”

Davidson stated that strikers know the support of the community will be crucial during the fight against Thombert and that residents have already played a big part in helping the strike. “The people in this neighborhood are standing behind us, bringing us supplies, allowing us to set up tents for shelter on their property, so it’s very important to us that we return that good will,” he said. “This is a small community in Newton and we’re sticking together. We’re going to keep helping each other as much as we can.”

 

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