At noon today, UAW President Shawn Fain was sworn into office, completing our union’s first-ever direct election of top leadership. The new International Executive Board convened immediately after the swearing-in ceremony, and is ready to get to work for the UAW membership.
A little over ten years ago, “Right to Work” was signed into law in Michigan, even as thousands of union members protested at the Capitol.
This week, however, is the beginning of a new era for Michigan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed the bills to repeal “Right to Work.”
After a decade of “Right to Work” laws in Michigan that suppressed income and eroded job quality, the passage of House Bills 4004 and 4005 and Senate Bills 5 and 34 get Michigan one step closer to restoring workers’ rights. For too long we have seen anti-union legislation being introduced and passed in our State Legislature. That time has finally come to an end.
This is a very proud week for labor, the UAW, and our entire membership
I want to express my deep gratitude to all UAW leaders and active and retired members for your many years of support and solidarity. It has been the honor of my life to serve our great union.
Tomorrow, Shawn Fain will be sworn in as UAW president, and he will chair our 2023 Special Bargaining Convention. I am committed to ensuring that this transition is smooth and without disruptions. I wish him, the entire UAW International Executive Board, staff and clerical support as well as UAW’s membership great success for the future.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Today, the UAW International Executive Board unanimously approved increasing strike pay from $400 to $500 per week. This increase reflects the effects of continuing inflation as well as the need for our union to prepare for an important bargaining year affecting multiple sectors and employers.
“This increase will immediately help members who are on strike,” says UAW President Ray Curry. “Increasing the strike pay gives notice to employers that we have high expectations as we head into bargaining, and that the UAW is united in fighting for economic justice for all members.”
Successful vote is latest victory in growing grad worker union movement
Los Angeles, CA – By a 93% margin, graduate workers at the University of Southern California have voted 1,599 to 122 in favor of joining the Graduate Student Workers Organizing Committee-United Auto Workers (GSWOC-UAW), according to ballots tallied today by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The victory caps a multi-year effort, with workers standing strong against USC administrators’ anti-union campaign. GSWOC-UAW will represent 3,000 Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants and Assistant Lecturers at USC.
“We are so energized by this resounding vote in favor of our union,” said Stepp Mayes, a Graduate Student Worker in Civil and Environmental Engineering. “The support for our union keeps growing stronger, and we will be bringing this solidarity and energy to the bargaining table. We are confident that our union will be good for us and good for USC, and we look forward to meeting them at the table soon to bargain a contract that makes us all stronger.”
“The status quo has not been serving Graduate Student Workers, and we are thrilled to have won our union and an equal voice in determining our working conditions,” said Maggie Davis, a Graduate Student Worker in Sociology. “Our next step will be to democratically prioritize the changes we plan to bargain for, so we can tackle issues like inadequate pay and health care, a lack of protections against abusive conduct, and insufficient support for international students.”
Over the past two years, more than 20,000 academic workers in California alone have unionized with UAW. UAW now represents nearly 100,000 higher ed academic workers across the country – and more Academic Student Employees than any other union.
“I want to congratulate USC’s student workers on their incredible hard work, and welcome them to the UAW,” said Mike Miller, Director of UAW Region 6. “Like their 7,000 colleagues in the LA-area who have already joined the UAW, they are part of a movement of higher ed workers who are coming together to improve academia. We look forward to working together as they bargain a contract.”
“The UAW is so proud to support these brave workers at USC, and thousands of other academic workers across the country, as they fight for the right to self-determination,” said UAW International President Ray Curry. “Issues like low pay, job insecurity, harassment and discrimination aren’t going away on their own. USC’s workers are building a strong framework for changing how higher ed works for the better. And we are proud to stand with them.”
In just this past year, Research Scientists and Engineers at the University of Washington voted 85% in favor of unionizing with UAW, Mt. Sinai Postdoctoral Researchers voted 89.5% in favor of unionizing with UAW, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute Grad Employees voted 96% in favor of unionizing with UAW.
Learn more about GSWOC-UAW online at www.gswoc-usc.org.
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