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This week, top officers of the UAW participated in the union’s first-ever Unionwide Town Hall, themed “Back in the Fight: Our Generation’s Defining Moment at the Big Three.”
The National Town Hall is a new addition to the UAW constitution, passed by delegates at the 2022 Constitutional Convention, “to ensure an open flow of information and better communication with the UAW’s active and retired membership.”
President Shawn Fain laid out the union’s position towards the Detroit automakers. “These companies have been extraordinarily profitable, and our members have created incredible value for these companies during some really hard, and dangerous years,” Fain said. “They can afford our demands, and we expect them to pony up.”
Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock noted, “These companies can afford all of our demands. Since the Great Recession, as a result of our members’ hard work, the Big Three have been amassing an ocean of money.”
Vice President Rich Boyer spoke about the need to end the tier system in the upcoming contracts. “Tiers weaken us and undermine our solidarity by dividing us in our workplaces. Tiers must come to an end.”
Discussing the need to win back the reinstatement of COLA, Vice President Chuck Browning stated, “Inflation has gone up three times as much as our wages in the past three and a half years. That’s unacceptable, and unsustainable.”
Vice President Mike Booth spoke on the union prioritizing job security during the transition to electric vehicles. “It must be a just transition. That means workers aren’t left behind. The transition must do right by our members, our families, and our communities.”
On June 1, 2009, General Motors filed for bankruptcy. To commemorate the 14th anniversary of that event, UAW Vice President Mike Booth issued the following statement:
“Fourteen years ago this week, General Motors filed for bankruptcy. It was a scary moment for the auto industry, for our country, and for auto workers everywhere. The federal government, the American taxpayer, and – more than anyone – the auto workers rallied to save the iconic company.
Auto workers had their wages slashed, lost their retirement security, gave up their job security, had their cost-of-living adjustments suspended. We gave up so much to save this company. And it wasn’t just UAW members who took the hit — it was our families, our communities, and the whole middle class of this great nation.
In the 14 years since that moment, GM has fully bounced back. Last year, GM ranked number 25 on the Fortune 500. In the past decade, the company has made over $100 billion dollars in profit in North America.
You know who hasn’t bounced back? The US autoworker. We still live with the two-tier wage and benefits system. We still don’t have cost-of-living adjustments in a time of historic inflation. We still suffer from plant closures and an uncertain future, even when business is booming.
We’ve waited long enough. It’s time to make whole the auto workers who sacrificed to save this industry. That’s why we’re fighting for a fair contract at GM, Ford, and Stellantis in 2023.”
Bethesda, Maryland – Today, 4,800 early-career researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) filed to form their union, NIH Fellows United-UAW. This is the first union within the U.S. federal government for research fellows, which includes postbaccalaureate, predoctoral, and postdoctoral researchers.
The NIH is the largest biomedical research institution in the world, and fellows’ work is integral to the development of technologies and treatments to enhance public health. Workers cited ongoing issues around low pay, a lack of support for early-career researchers, and the need for a voice at work as reasons for their collective action.
They rallied today as they celebrated this milestone and then traveled to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to file for their union.
“Fellows don’t have any voice or power in this institution, so it feels like we’re cheap labor rather than equal members of a team,” said Travis Kinder, Research Fellow at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). “The changes we need at the NIH and in the world cannot be done alone and require us to work collectively.”
“While Corporate America cheers on another Supreme Court attack on workers’ rights, this ruling achieves nothing that would undermine the fundamental right to strike,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Our members’ fight for justice on and off the job won’t be slowed by a court ruling or by corporate greed. While we’re disappointed to see the US Supreme Court once again try to legislate away the rights of working-class Americans, the UAW remains ready to take action, when necessary, to raise the standard for workers everywhere.”
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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!”