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PLYMOUTH, MI — Nearly 200 workers at Webasto Roof Systems have voted to join UAW Local 3000, in the latest organizing victory for the union.
The workers, who make convertible tops for the Mustang, Jeep, Bronco, and Corvette, launched their organizing drive in November, and faced an intense anti-union campaign from management.
“We’re doing this for our coworkers,” said Sheron Johnson, a production worker at Webasto. “People have been mistreated, not getting paid, having their schedules changed with no notice. We want to leave this place better for the next generation.”
Gustavo Vasquez has worked at Webasto for 17 years. “We used to have our voices heard at Webasto, that’s all we want,” Vasquez said. “To be treated as an asset to the company and not just a number.”
“These brave workers stuck together in the face of fierce opposition from the company,” said UAW Local 3000 President Steve Gonzales. “As they move from this organizing victory to the fight for a first contract, we’ve got their back 100 percent.”
“Over and over, we’re seeing workers across the auto supply chain come together in a common cause for justice on the job,” said UAW Region 1A Director Laura Dickerson. “Congratulations to our newest members at Webasto, and welcome to the UAW Region 1A family!”
HOLLAND, OH – Workers who make vehicle batteries for Clarios in Holland, OH are marking one week on strike for a fair work schedule and against pay cuts, after rejecting the company’s latest offer by an overwhelming 98 percent.
In a letter to the company, US Senator Sherrod Brown wrote “in support of the members of UAW Local 12 who are currently exercising their rights to strike for fair pay they’ve earned.” Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur visited strikers on the picket line, and several other elected officials have publicly shown their support.
On Friday, the company won a temporary injunction limiting supporters to five picketers per gate, even banning livestock after a member rode their horse to the picket line.
“Using the courts as a weapon against working people standing up for their rights is extremely disrespectful,” said UAW Region 2B Director Dave Green. “Clarios doesn’t need a judge to help them end this dispute – they need to come back to the bargaining table with a serious offer that our members can accept.”
UAW family,
This past month has been a very busy one for our union, and I’m excited to share what we’ve been working on. This week, I spoke directly to the membership about our progress, and our major fights ahead. If you missed it, check it out here.
The Electric Vehicle transition remains a core issue for our union. Right now, we have UAW members in Lordstown, Ohio, making batteries for a GM “joint venture” called Ultium, earning just $16.50 an hour. EVs aren’t just coming – they’re here. And we support a clean auto industry. But we need to make sure the EV transition is a “just transition.” That means it’s not a race to the bottom. That means not allowing these companies to circumvent our contracts to pay low-road wages like they’re doing at Ultium.
Outside of the Big Three, the UAW continues to fight and win:
- We had a huge victory this week in the IPS sector, where over 400 workers at Yanfeng auto supplier outside Kansas City voted in a landslide to join UAW Local 710. These workers faced low wages, racial discrimination, and no seniority rights but they fought back and won their union. I want to personally welcome these workers to the family and let them know that myself and everyone else in the UAW have your backs as you fight for a first contract.
- Congratulations to Local 588 members at Metal-Matic who recently ratified their first contract. After 65 days on the picket line Local 588 was able to negotiate an agreement that achieves equal pay for equal work, a bedrock principle of unionism. These members proved that when we stand in solidarity, we can win.
- Higher education workers continue to organize, fight, and win, with major campaigns and organizing activity from the University of Maine to the University of Southern California. From coast to coast, the UAW continues to lead the way in building power on higher education campuses.
Your elected leadership on the International Executive Board are united and hard at work implementing the changes we believe are needed to transform our union back into a fighting organization. But it’s going to take all of us to get back in the fight. Send this message along to a UAW member in your life and ask them to sign up for Member Updates at UAW.org, and follow UAW on social media. We’re just getting started.
In solidarity,
UAW President Shawn
Hundreds of workers at the Yanfeng USA Riverside Facility outside Kansas City, Missouri have voted to join UAW Local 710 with 310 yes votes to 26 no. This is the sixth UAW-organized Yanfeng facility, joining over 1,000 members at the supplier in Highland Park, Romulus, and Monroe, Michigan, Mississauga, Ontario, and McCalla, Alabama. The Riverside location produces parts for the General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, represented by UAW Local 31.
Yanfeng workers organized to put an end to low pay, lack of seniority rights, understaffed shifts, and little to no work-life balance. Workers of color have faced discrimination from management in job placement and rights at work.
“This struggle was about fair treatment for every worker and holding management accountable,” said Sharon Gilliam, a Yanfeng worker who helped spearhead the organizing drive. “We want every worker to be educated and informed of their rights and empower them on the shop floor, and this is the first step.”
“This is a big win for the newest members of Local 710,” said President Jeff Schweedler. “They’ve suffered for years, being beat down by management for one reason or another; because of the different dialects they speak, to what they look like. It’s time for them to have a voice at the table and a voice in the workplace. It’s great for them to finally have the opportunity to negotiate a contract.”
“Workers, union and non-union alike, are fed up with corporate profits and executive compensation going up, while their purchasing power and quality of life go down,” said UAW Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell. “The newest members of the UAW at Yanfeng have just taken a huge step towards justice for themselves, their families and their community. Region 4 and the entire UAW stand in solidarity with you to achieve your first union contract. Welcome to the UAW!”
“The Yanfeng workers, our UAW organizers, and Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell have notched a huge win for working people,” said UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, who oversees the Independents, Parts, and Suppliers division of the UAW. “We look forward to winning a good, equitable agreement at Yanfeng.”
After 65 days on the picket line, workers at Metal-Matic in Bedford Park, Illinois have ratified their first union contract, winning equal pay for equal work, and an end to major pay disparities.
The 140 workers who make steel tubing for major automakers and suppliers joined UAW Local 588 in June of 2021, and have been fighting for a first contract for nearly two years.
“These UAW members held a 24/7 picket line for two months through torrential rain, hurricane-force winds, and bitter cold,” said UAW Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell. “They showed us all the power of solidarity.”
“If you’re doing my job, we should make the same pay,” said Robert Stirn, a member of UAW Local 588. “It was a tough fight, but we have to stand up for what’s right. I’m proud to be part of this union.”
“Stellantis’ push to cut thousands of jobs while raking in billions in profits is disgusting,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “This is a slap in the face to our members, their families, their communities, and the American people who saved this company 15 years ago. Even now, politicians and taxpayers are bankrolling the electric vehicle transition, and this is the thanks the working class gets. Shame on Stellantis.”
UAW Vice President Rich Boyer said “Our union is working around the clock to get justice for the members impacted by these job cuts. We look forward to Stellantis doing the right thing by the workers who make this company run.”
Stellantis made $18 billion in profits in 2022, and paid CEO Carlos Tavares $25 million.
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