Two elected UAW International Executive Board members were sworn in today: Vice President Chuck Browning and Region 9 Director Daniel Vicente.
The vote counting for President continues.
Latest News
UAW to provide 360,000 identification kits to protect the children of Delaware and area states
Dover, DE and Detroit, MI – Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long announces that UAW will provide 360,000 identification kits in partnership with the National Child Identification Program, to protect Delaware’s children.
Delaware families will receive an inkless, at-home child ID kit in the spring. The child identification kit allows parents to store the necessary information law enforcement needs to find a missing child. All kits are stored at home by the parent or guardian and do not enter a database. Each kit includes an inkless fingerprint identification card, inkless fingerprint activation solution, DNA storage of a child’s saliva, place for a recent photo, location of medical/dental records, and a physical description section to note any distinguishing features.
This kit is intended to ensure parents have over 90% of the information authorities need should a child ever go missing. Across America, 1,000 children go missing on average every day. In 2021, 53 children were reported missing in Delaware, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
85,000 kits will be distributed through Delaware school districts starting in May and will be provided to students in grades K-12. Parents will be notified about the distribution of the kits. Lt. Governor Hall-Long will be working with other states in the region and suppling them with the remaining kits to help protect their children.
“Our union has a long-standing commitment to workplace safety and security,” adds UAW President Ray Curry. “These Child ID kits are a simple way to extend peace of mind to our communities, and we are proud to make this donation.” UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith also notes: “We have a deep connection with Delaware and many of our active and retired members still live in the state. This is another example of our union’s commitment to community service.”
“UAW is a dedicated supporter of the National Child Identification Program. I am thrilled to work with UAW and the great leadership of Lieutenant Governor Hall-Long to be able to provide this great gift of safety to the families of Delaware,” said National Child ID Program Executive Director Kenny Hansmire.
“I am thrilled to work with the UAW and the National Child ID Program to provide this gift of safety to Delaware families. This free, easy, and effective tool will allow Delaware families to prepare for the unimaginable. When a child goes missing, every minute matters,” said Delaware Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long. “These simple, inkless, at-home identification kits are a small action parents can take to protect against their children. The kits are stored at home by parents and do not enter a database. Thank you to UAW President Ray Curry for facilitating this large donation.”
UAW members across four locals in Illinois and Pennsylvania have ratified their new contract with Caterpillar Inc. The terms of the contract are effective immediately. We commend the UAW-Caterpillar bargaining team for their hard work and UAW membership for their solidarity and support throughout this process.
IG Metall, the UAW and Volkswagen’s Group and World Group Works Council welcome the construction of a new plant in South Carolina, where electrified vehicles will be manufactured under the traditional US brand Scout Motors. This investment will create thousands of new manufacturing jobs and will further drive the transformation towards electromobility.
We also welcome the fact that the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board have clearly stated that Volkswagen and Scout will respect employees and trade union rights at the new site. This means that future employees will have the right to decide on union representation without intimidation or influence.
IG Metall, the UAW and the Volkswagen Group and World Group Works Council will monitor the process in a constructive way.
The UAW’s bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with Caterpillar Inc. before the contract expiration. Members at four locals in Illinois and Pennsylvania will review the tentative agreement and vote at upcoming ratification meetings. No details will be publicly released, and we will have no further statement until after those meetings.
UAW President Ray Curry discusses PRO Act with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY)
The UAW applauds Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Chairman Bernie Sanders, Leader Jeffries, Ranking Member Bobby Scott, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, and all original co-sponsors in the re-introduction of the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act today.
We wholeheartedly agree with President Biden’s statement on the PRO Act during his recent state of the union address: “I’m so sick and tired of companies breaking the law by preventing workers from organizing. Pass the PRO Act because workers have a right to form a union. And let’s guarantee all workers a living wage.” This vital bipartisan legislation would strengthen workers’ right to collectively bargain for higher wages, better benefits, a safer workplace and a more secure retirement. The UAW calls on Congress to pass the Richard L. Trumka PRO Act so that President Biden can sign it into law.
Popularity for unions is higher than it’s been in recent memory. According to a recent Gallup poll, 71 percent of Americans say they approve of labor unions. In 2022, more than 60 million workers wanted to join a union but could not. Despite growing support for unions and an uptick in union election petitions across the country, union density has declined over last several decades as anti-worker corporations have gone to great lengths to suppress workers’ rights to form a union. According to the Economic Policy Institute, employers spend nearly $340 million dollars a year to hire union busting firms to help them stop workers from organizing,
For too long, employers have been able to violate the law with little consequence, routinely denying working people their basic right to join with co-workers and have a voice in the workplace. Time and time again, workers have fought for a union only to be met with coercion, retaliation, and intimidation by employers seeking to prevent workers from exercising their fundamental rights such as illegally firing workers, holding captive audience meetings, and threatening to close plants. The PRO Act would address these and other impediments. UAW urges Congress to pass the Richard L. Trumka PRO Act and send it to President Biden’s desk for signature.
Last December, Stellantis NV announced its decision to idle the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois on February 28, 2023, by refusing to put a new product into the award-winning plant.
“UAW Local 1268 members at Belvidere have proudly built vehicles for Chrysler, then FCA and now Stellantis since 1965. They have delivered quality and productivity for the corporation for generations,” says UAW President Ray Curry. “Stellantis’ ill-advised decision will have negative repercussions throughout the region and supplier network. It will disrupt lives, uproot families, and leave communities struggling to find economic drivers to pay for schools, roads and other services.”
“It is notable that while Stellantis abandons this community after being part of it for almost sixty years, the corporation has benefitted from numerous and generous subsidies, federal loans, grants and tax abatements – all paid for by U.S. taxpayers,” adds UAW Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell. “The cruelty of its decision was heightened last week when the company disclosed that CEO Carlos Tavares received a staggering compensation package of $24.8 million for 2022, despite the company’s shareholders questioning the excessive compensation given to Tavares in 2021. All of this done by a global company which looks to the U.S. market for 48% of its revenue.”
Stellantis’ decision to idle the Belvidere Assembly Plant will not stand.
“We have immediately addressed the concerns of the 2300 affected employees by negotiating with the company on retirement packages, voluntary termination, as well as pre-retirement leaves to allow employees to grow into their retirement. We are also working with interested members on the relocation process,” notes UAW Vice President and Director of the National Stellantis Department Rich Boyer. “While the power of collective bargaining softens the blow for UAW Local 1268 members who work for Stellantis, we know that the options are much more limited for the supplier network which includes UAW members as well as the community at large. This economic dislocation is a choice made by Stellantis to reap even higher profits. We will highlight their corporate greed to workers, community, taxpayers, and consumers.”
The UAW will continue to demand that Stellantis put a product in the Belvidere Assembly Plant. This pattern of starving facilities of a product creates uncertainty for UAW members and raises questions about Stellantis’ commitment to the U.S.
UAW workers deserve better. U.S. taxpayers who subsidize Stellantis deserve better. And U.S. consumers deserve better.
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Detroit – Our union was successful in negotiating an enhanced profit-sharing formula with Stellantis in 2019. The new formula more accurately reflects the contributions of UAW members to the success of Stellantis. Today’s announcement that eligible UAW-Stellantis members will receive a record average profit-sharing amount of $14,760 confirms that the skill, dedication, and hard work of UAW members are a critical part of the success of Mopar, Chrysler, Jeep, RAM, Wagoneer and Dodge.
The financial strength of Stellantis primarily relies on the company’s UAW workforce as evidenced by its financial report. Our members are the backbone of this company. We will continue to call on Stellantis to show our members the respect that is due to them by demanding that they provide a safe working environment to all employees and job security by investing in America.
While we recognize that this profit sharing amount is rightly deserved, we also know that there is much work to be done. Our members at Belvidere (Local 1268) contributed to this profit sharing, yet the company has idled their plant. That decision will not stand, and we will fight to reverse it with UAW members, the Belvidere community, the state of Illinois, taxpayers, consumers and all who stand against corporate greed.
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