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Building on Historic Union Victory, Volkswagen Workers in Chattanooga Rally to Win Strong First Contract

CHATTANOOGA – After an historic victory earlier this year, where Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga voted almost 3-to-1 to join the United Auto Workers (UAW), union members are now turning their attention to securing a strong first contract. On September 19, workers will begin negotiations with Volkswagen, aiming to win a first agreement that raises standards and includes wages, benefits, and protections on par with those secured by autoworkers in unionized plants.

The vote marked a watershed moment in the labor movement, with Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga becoming the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to unionize. Now, they are channeling that momentum toward bargaining for a contract that delivers meaningful improvements to their work and lives.

“Our victory in April was just the beginning,” said Samuel Gallardo, an assembly line worker at Volkswagen. “Now we are focused on winning a contract that reflects the hard work and dedication of every worker here. We’ve shown that when we stand together, we win—first our union, and soon a contract that guarantees higher wages, better benefits, and a brighter future for all.”

As they prepare for the first day of bargaining on September 19, UAW members are rallying to show their unity and determination to secure a fair agreement. The rally will feature workers, union leaders, and community supporters, all standing together in solidarity as they demand the wages, benefits, and protections they deserve.

“This contract is about more than just numbers—it’s about dignity, respect, and real security for our families,” said Bashaar Al-Hussieni, a worker at the Chattanooga plant. “We voted for the union because we knew we deserved better. Now we’re ready to make sure that our first contract delivers on that promise.”

With the success of recent Big Three and Daimler Truck negotiations as inspiration, Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga are setting a powerful example of what’s possible when workers come together to demand fairness at work.

With representation across every department and shift, the 20-person elected bargaining committee has been meeting for weeks to synthesize survey data about members’ aspirations and goals for the first agreement. Supported by veteran negotiator Chuck Browning, UAW Vice President, the group has been reviewing company and industry data and contract language from agreements with Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.

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US District Court Issues Rare Injunction Against Automaker Lucid for Firing Union Supporters

Click here to read the summary of the injunction that the court ordered Lucid to read to employees in the Casa Grande factory.

 

The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona issued a temporary injunction Friday against the automaker Lucid and ordered it to reinstate two employees fired during an ongoing union drive.

The rare 10(j) injunction stems from unfair labor practice (ULP) charges that the UAW filed with the National Labor Relations Board over the firing of Lucid workers Amie Begay and Chad Brewer in early 2023. Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act allows the Board to request temporary injunctions from federal district courts to stop serious ULPs while a case moves through the Board’s process. The Board found merit to the UAW’s charges that the company had fired Begay and Brewer for their union activity and sought the injunction from the court.

One human resources official at Lucid wrote in an email that she would do “anything” to end the workers’ union drive.

“Lucid management said they would do anything to stop us from winning our union. Yesterday’s decision shows we’re not going to be stopped,” said Lucid worker Chad Brewer. “The court has called out Lucid for their outrageous conduct and protected our right to form our union. The company tried to silence us, but they have made our voice even stronger.”

“Workers at Lucid, and autoworkers everywhere, won justice yesterday,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “This decision tells rogue employers like Lucid that they won’t get away with attacking workers. The union-busting bullies of corporate America need to understand it’s a new day. Autoworkers are not going to be intimidated anymore. They are fed up and they are fired up. They are standing up to win their union and the UAW has their back.”

“This decision reaffirms that workers at electric-vehicle makers like Lucid have the right to form unions and win justice on the job,” said UAW Region 6 Director Mike Miller. “Our nation is investing billions in the EV industry. Our investment in the climate economy shouldn’t shortchange climate workers. We need to make sure that the green economy is a just economy.”

The court’s decision to issue the 10(j) injunction indicates the severity of the ULP charges against Lucid and their chilling impact on the workers’ organizing efforts. The NLRB petitioned for just seven 10(j) injunctions nationwide in 2023.

The ULP against Lucid includes charges that Lucid: fired Brewer and Begay for their union support; surveilled them; confiscated union literature; solicited grievances from potential union supporters; and offered a supervisory position to Begay to encourage her to abandon her efforts. (Begay’s last name was Hansen in early 2023, but she married in Oct. 2023 and changed it.)

The court agreed with the Board that the injunction against Lucid was necessary “to prevent irreparable harm to employees’ rights and the Board’s remedial powers.” While the Board further adjudicates the ULP against Lucid, the court has ordered the company to offer interim reinstatement to Begay and Brewer, enjoined the company from making any further violations, and to publicly post and read the court’s order to employees.

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UAW President Shawn Fain and Hundreds of Workers Kick Off Volkswagen Contract Talks Sunday with Live Streamed Rally

CHATTANOOGA — On Sunday, Sept. 15, UAW President Shawn Fain will rally in Chattanooga with Volkswagen workers as contract negotiations covering more than 4,000 UAW members get underway. The workers are demanding a first agreement that raises standards and includes wages, benefits, and protections on par with those secured by autoworkers in unionized plants.

Sunday’s 1:30 p.m. ET rally will be livestreamed at the UAW’s Facebook page. It can also be viewed at the UAW’s YouTube Channel. (Media are invited to use the footage.)

WHAT:
UAW President Shawn Fain to Rally with Hundreds of Volkswagen Workers as Contract Talks Begin

WHEN:  
Sunday, September 15, at 1:30 p.m. ET

WHERE:
The Signal – Ballroom
21 Choo Choo Ave, Chattanooga, TN 37402

WHO:
UAW President Shawn Fain
UAW Vice President Chuck Browning
UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith
Volkswagen auto workers and allies

 

After an historic victory earlier this year, where Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga voted almost 3-to-1 to join the United Auto Workers (UAW), union members are now turning their attention to securing a strong first contract. On September 19, workers will begin negotiations with Volkswagen, aiming to win higher wages, better benefits, paid time off, retirement security, and much more.

The vote marked a watershed moment in the labor movement, with Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga becoming the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to unionize. Now, they are channeling that momentum toward bargaining for a contract that delivers meaningful improvements to their work and lives.

Bargaining with Volkswagen management begins on Thursday, September 19.

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New UAW Video Marks Anniversary of Historic “Stand Up” Strike Against Big Three Automakers and Significant Victories Since

Today, the UAW released a new video marking the one-year anniversary of one of the most consequential union campaigns in recent history. At midnight on September 15, 2023, thousands of workers walked out at plants at each of the Big Three automakers, launching the historic “Stand Up” strike.

The video can be accessed here, and the media is invited to use the footage.  

“When we went on strike on September 15, the Big Three had a combined $12 billion in new gains on the table for our union,” narrates UAW President Shawn Fain. “By the end of our Stand Up strike, that amount had grown to over $23 billion. The Big Three nearly doubled the money on the table.”

The video highlights the success of the “Stand Up” strike, from ending wage tiers, to winning COLA and significant raises, to security protection from plant closures.

“They told us we would never win back cost of living allowance,” Fain continues. “They told us we would never win the right to strike over plant closures. They told us we would never put an end to wage tiers, or a permanent underclass of temporary workers. But we did.”

The strike also led to the automakers agreeing to fold electric vehicle battery plants into the master agreement. Months later, Ultium workers ratified an industry-setting, first-ever union contract at a battery plant in Lordstown, OH.

 

The video’s full transcript via President Shawn Fain is available below:  

“The best thing we can do for one another is show each other how to be brave, how to be creative, and how to stand up for economic and social justice. That’s what our Stand Up Strike was all about.

“2023 was the first time the UAW President has refused to shake hands with the company CEOs, and instead shook hands with the members. It was the first time we updated our members directly on the company’s proposals throughout negotiations.

“It was our first time using a Stand Up Strike strategy. We ran the longest national contract strike at the Big Three since 1973. This was the first time in UAW history that we hit all three companies at once.

“We had doubters, but we also had champions. We had leaders and we had organizers. And I don’t mean people like me, I mean, you, the workers. The members who really run this union. People who take the word solidarity and make it mean something.

“If you’d have told me 30 years ago we could take on all three of the Big Three at one time, and win more in one contract than we have in decades, and if you told me that the vast majority of American public from my next door neighbors to the President of the United States would stand with us, I probably wouldn’t have believed it.

“When we went on strike on September 15th, the big three had a combined $12 billion in new gains on the table for our union. By the end of our Stand Up Strike, that amount had grown to over $23 billion. The Big Three nearly doubled the money on the table.

“They told us we would never win back cost of living allowance. They told us we would never win the right to strike over plant closures. They told us we would never put an end to wage tiers or permanent underclass of temporary workers. But we did.

“They said you can’t win a commitment to reopen Belvidere. And now of course the company’s trying to say you can’t enforce a contract. So we intend to fight like hell to make this company keep their promise.

“We managed to bring thousands of EV and battery jobs under our national agreements with a pathway for some of the Lordstown GM members to finally return home.

“We won $1.25 billion for current retirees, which is easily a billion more than we’ve won the last four contracts combined.

“And after we won these historic contracts at Ford, GM and Stellantis, nonunion employers were tripping over themselves to hand out raises in an obvious attempt to discourage employees from organizing. We called those raises the UAW Bump.

“This movement won a historic victory at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where workers overwhelmingly voted to unionize. 73%, that’s not just a victory, that’s a blowout.

“But I also want to make sure we remember we won something else too. We won back our dignity as auto workers. What we won in these agreements is a new muscle, a new chapter in the story of the UAW. Ordinary people did extraordinary things. Our solidarity is our strength. Our strength is the hope of working-class people everywhere. For ourselves, for our families, for our communities, for our country, and for our future.”

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New UAW Brings “Stand Up” Energy to Worksites and Targeted Battleground Communities in Mass Political Mobilization Campaign

On the one-year anniversary of the historic Stand Up Strike that led to record contracts for autoworkers at the Big Three, the UAW is kicking off its ambitious political campaign with the same bold organizing vision, mobilizing union members in key battleground states.

DETROIT—On the one-year anniversary of the Big Three Stand Up Strike, the United Auto Workers (UAW) is launching its bold 2024 political campaign to energize and activate tens of thousands of union members to rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz and other UAW endorsed candidates in the upcoming election. 

On Saturday, September 14, thousands of UAW members will participate in a weekend of action in battleground states including Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Arizona. Drawing from the proven playbook that resulted in record contracts in 2023, the UAW’s “Stand Up, Speak Up, Show Up” campaign will organize a massive field program, leveraging the strength of UAW members to challenge the billionaire class at the polls. 

The campaign will focus on one-on-one conversations between UAW workers and their families—at their workplaces, on their doorsteps, and on their phones—to speak directly about what’s at stake for working-class people in this election. Core issues include fighting for union rights and working families, affordable healthcare, retirement security, and lowering costs for all Americans.  

Programs will mobilize UAW support for Harris and other union-endorsed candidates who are crucial to winning back the House and keeping the Senate, including Rep. Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and candidates in frontline House districts in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York. 

“One year ago, we took on corporate America on the picket line and put working class issues front and center, with the vast majority of Americans standing with us in our fight for economic and social justice,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Today, we are taking that fight to the ballot box, speaking to our members, our families, and our communities to win once again big for the working class in this election.” 

A comprehensive list of UAW-endorsed candidates is available at UAWEndorsements.org. For more information, visit UAWStandUp2024.org. 

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UAW Releases New Political Video on Corporate Price Gouging

Today, the UAW released a new political video highlighting the corporate greed and price gouging behind the surging cost of basic needs. As part of the Stand Up movement, the union is activating tens of thousands of its members in Michigan and other key battleground states to turn out the vote for endorsed candidates in 2024 including the Harris-Walz presidential ticket.  

 The video can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the footage.  

 “Corporate profits are up because greedy corporations are price gouging the hell out of the working class,” narrates UAW President Shawn Fain. “You’re paying more for a gallon of milk so a CEO can buy another yacht.”   


The video breaks down facts about inflation and corporate price gouging, including how:   

  •  53% of inflation was driven by corporate profits alone  
  • New car prices went up 30% while workers’ wages remained stagnant  
  • Price of gas went up $1 per gallon since 2020 while Exxon raked in over $36 billion in profits in 2023  
  • General Mills profits went up 16.5% while they brag to investors about getting smart about  how we look at pricing 
  • Delta announced a 30% increase in airfare while their CEO gets a 250% raise


The video’s full transcript via President Shawn Fain is available here:  

Walter Reuther once said that there is a direct relationship between the ballot box and the bread box and that couldn’t be any truer now. 

 We have a cost-of-living crisis in this country, from the gas pump to the grocery store, from your car to your rent to your medical bills, costs are going higher and higher.

If you listen to the corporate media and the pundits, you’ll hear a million explanations. They’ll say wages are too high. We know that’s B.S. They’ll say government policy causes inflation. 

So why are prices sky high? Because corporations are jacking up prices. And why do they do it? Corporate greed. 

Wherever there’s a crisis or emergency, working class people are always looking for a way to help and support one another, while the billionaire class is looking for a way to extract more wealth. 

When working class America was hit by the economic disruption of the pandemic, corporate America started seeing dollar signs. One study showed that 53% of the inflation was driven by corporate profits alone. 

What does that look like in practice? It looks like the price of a new car going up by 30% while wages remained stagnant. It looks like the price of gas rising more than a dollar a gallon since 2020. 

So, while we’re feeling the pain at the pump, Exxon raked in more than $36 billion in profits last year. It looks like General Mills profits going up 16.5%, while they brag to investors about getting smart about how we look at pricing. That’s not smart. That’s price gouging. It looks like Delta announcing a 30% increase in airfare, while their CEO gets a 250% raise. 

So, when a billionaire tells you that inflation is due to Joe Biden or government spending or regulations or because wages are too high, they’re full of it. That billionaire is pocketing those price increases and laughing all the way to the bank. 

Corporate profits are up because greedy corporations are price gouging the hell out of the working class. You’re paying more for a gallon of milk so a CEO can buy another yacht.

If we’re going to fix the cost-of-living crisis, if we’re going to give working class Americans a shot at a decent life, we’re going to have to take on Wall Street and corporate America head on. That means electing candidates that are champions for the people who have stood shoulder to shoulder with striking workers fighting for a better life. That’s candidates like Kamala Harris. 

It also means defeating candidates who serve the billionaire class, like their lapdog, Donald Trump, who takes $45 million a month in campaign contributions from his puppet master, Elon Musk. 

It also means that on November 5th, our union is ready to keep fighting for the working class and an economy that benefits all of us, no matter who is in office. 

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Economic Justice Victory for Automobile Technicians in New York State

Today, September 4, 2024, New York State Governor Hochul will be signing a.4066B (Burgos) / s.5085C (Kennedy) into law. This law Requires Motor Vehicle Dealer Franchisors to Fully Compensate Franchised Motor Vehicle Dealers for Warranty Service Agreements.

As of today, New York State will ensure that Technicians employed at Dealerships will earn equal pay for equal work.

The UAW is proud to have led the fight for the passage of this legislation that supports the highly skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced Technicians who serve as the backbone of Dealerships across New York State.

With today’s signing, New York State will abolish the two-tiered compensation system imposed by the highly profitable Vehicle Manufactures. The Manufactures were permitted, by law, to pay less than fair-market labor time allowances to Technicians for diagnostic and warranty / recall repairs they perform versus the actual fair market labor time allowances charged for out-of-warranty diagnostic and repairs because yesterday’s law offered no definition for what “reasonable compensation” meant.

Today, New York State will define “reasonable compensation” to mean the labor time allowances published in the retail labor time guides utilized by Dealerships for non-warranty diagnostic and repairs. It will also require Vehicle Manufactures to fully fund warranty diagnostic and repairs at Dealerships which enables the Dealerships to pay the equitable labor time allowances to Technicians.

This change is monumental and will add $900 million to New York’s taxable wage base while putting money in New Yorker’s pockets, not multinational corporations. Today, New York State will effectively increase the weekly earnings for both union and non-union Technicians.

Today, New York State is living up to our state motto, Excelsior; we are slamming the door shut on this egregious example of corporate greed. Highly skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced Technicians will no longer have the vehicle manufacturers ripping off their labor, as today, economic justice prevails!

Special recognition to Local 259 members Carlos Gonzalez, Daniel Kunz, Paul Scaperotta, Estaban Sanchez, Will Ganshaw, Tim Gray, Bill Glynn, Krystine Ahearne, Saif Ahmed, Roger Sterk, Sebastian Ragonesi, Paul Tubito, and Pat McGrath. Each sacrificed many hours and days traveling to Albany so to lobby the Assembly and Senate. There were many ups and some significant downs, but we never blinked, we did not give up, and we did not give in.

And many thanks and much solidarity to our sisters and brothers in Region 9 and particularly Locals 686, 774, 897 and 1097. This legislation would not be possible without them. The greedy manufacturers attempted to splinter us, but because there was never any daylight in our SOLIDARITY, we prevailed!

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Ultium Workers in Tennessee Win Their Union as Majority Sign Cards to Join the UAW

SPRING HILL, Tenn. — A majority of workers at Ultium Cells in Tennessee have signed cards to join the UAW and the company has agreed to recognize their union. Ultium, a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution, did not interfere with the decision by its 1,000 employees to join the UAW. The workers organized without facing threats or intimidation and won their union once a majority of workers signed cards. 

 “This is a great day for Ultium workers and for every worker in Tennessee and the South,” said Trudy Lindahl, a worker at Ultium in Spring Hill. “Southern workers are ready to stand up and win our fair share by winning our unions. And when we have a free and fair choice, we will win every time.”

 The Ultium workers’ victory marks the latest big win for autoworkers in the South. In April, 4,300 workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tenn., made history as they became the first Southern autoworkers outside of the Big Three to win their union.  

 “The UAW members at Ultium and VW are proving that the new jobs of the South will be union jobs,” said Director Tim Smith of UAW Region 8, which includes Tennessee and ranges from the Southeast to New Mexico. “In the battery plants and EV factories springing up from Georgia to Kentucky to Texas, workers know they deserve the same strong pay and benefits our members have won. And we’re going to make sure they have the support they need to win their unions and win their fair share.” 

 The Ultium plant in Spring Hill, which started production this year, is the second Ultium factory built in the United States and the second to go union. The first, in Lordstown, Ohio, opened in 2022, and workers there also organized with the UAW. 

 “Being unionized will help us reap the benefits as far as better healthcare, better pay, and overall, just having decency within the workplace— not just for us, but future generations,” said Tradistine Chambers, a worker at Ultium in Spring Hill.

Noting the strength that comes from forming a union, Ultium worker Jim Erwin commented, “You’re grouped together, and you can stand up as one. That’s the power of being a union.” He added, “Instead of just one stick, you’ve got several. You can’t snap several sticks, but you can snap one.” 

  Just two months ago, the Ultium workers in Lordstown won a breakthrough contract that sets a new standard for the EV industry. It includes strong health and safety standards and life-changing wage increases. By 2027, the pay for Ultium Lordstown workers will be more than double what it was when the plant opened. 

  The Ultium contract in Lordstown sets a powerful precedent for Spring Hill and for the tens of thousands of new battery jobs that will be coming online soon across the South, including at Ford’s Blue Oval plants in Tennessee and Kentucky.

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UAW Members Ratify Unprecedented Contract at Cornell University that Secures First-Time COLA Increase and Ends Tiers

ITHACA – In a major win for higher education workers, UAW members at Cornell University have voted by 77% to ratify a new four-year contract securing wage increases of up to 25.4%, a groundbreaking first-time cost of living allowance increase, and the elimination of the two-tier wage system. The agreement also introduces significant improvements to policies on time off, uniforms, inclement weather and safety protections.

The deal comes after workers at Cornell, made up of maintenance and facilities workers, dining workers, gardeners, custodians, agriculture and horticulture workers and others, went on strike August 18 and forced the university to meet their demands.

Prior to the strike, Cornell was offering $37 million in new wages and benefits over the life of the contract, which workers knew would not be enough to counter declining real wages and skyrocketing housing costs in Ithaca. After striking, the workers were able to win another $6 million in investments to eliminate tiers, pay living wages, and introduce COLA to protect wages from inflation. All told, the new agreement includes $43 million in new wage and benefit costs.

Over the past four years, Cornell’s endowment has soared 39% to nearly $10 billion and tuition has increased 13% – all while workers’ buying power has fallen 5%.

“The membership was ready to do things differently in these negotiations, and they built the collective power to force Cornell to say ‘Yes’ to a truly unprecedented contract,” said UAW Local 2300 President Christine Johnson. “We united around a clear set of demands and won a great agreement that rewards our work, enhances workplace safety, and will improve our members’ lives.”

Workers will return to work for their next shift starting at 10:00 p.m.

Cornell University workers are the latest UAW members standing up to the billionaire class. Thousands of UAW members have won record contracts in the last year, including auto workers at Daimler Truck, the Big Three automakers, and Allison Transmission workers in Indianapolis, IN.

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UAW Delegation to Germany to Confront Union-Busting at Webasto

Detroit, MI – UAW announced today that a delegation of UAW leaders will bring major concerns about illegal anti-union behavior at Webasto, a German parts supplier with plants in the Detroit area, to counterparts in Germany at a meeting scheduled for next week. The delegation comes after Webasto workers had previously filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. UAW also says that it is actively considering whether to file an additional complaint in German Court if Webasto’s illegal anti-union activities do not stop.

“We’re just asking for Webasto to respect our basic rights,” said Isaiah Towns, who works in Webasto – Detroit’s Bonding department. “No one should have to go through what Webasto has been subjecting us to. It’s time for the threats, harassment, and bullying to stop.”

A clear majority of the approximately 600 workers at Webasto – Detroit had previously filed for their union election in late July. The election has been scheduled for September 9 and 10. Workers at the plant report facing excessive anti-union harassment and intimidation from Webasto management. The factory makes the roof top used on the Ford Broncos manufactured by UAW members at the Michigan Assembly Plant. Webasto has distributed anti-union literature with the Ford Bronco logo prominently displayed along with the message “No Bucking Union.”

“This company needs to be held accountable,” said Pelle Burnett, who works in Webasto – Detroit’s PU department. “Webasto has shown that they will go to any length to stop us from winning the right to bargain collectively together. Even though we haven’t won our union yet, we’re still ready to Stand Up to make this unacceptable behavior stop.”

Among other examples of anti-union activity, workers say Webasto has:

  • Disciplined, isolated, intimidated, and terminated workers in retaliation for their union support
  • Changed policy to require workers to get permission before using the bathroom and then prevented a union supporter from using the bathroom for two hours
  • Required workers to attend captive audience meetings
  • Used video cameras to surveil union activity
  • Maintained an unlawful rulebook

An Unfair Labor Practice charge filed with the NLRB noted 17 separate instances of unlawful conduct committed by Webasto managers at the time of the filing. The National Labor Relations Board is actively investigating the charge.

In addition to Webasto’s obligations under American law, if the company is found to be in violation of German law, they could face serious financial sanctions.

An LM-10 filed with the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that Webasto previously paid over $300,000 to an anti-union consulting firm to try to persuade workers at the Webasto-Pilot Road plant against forming a union with the UAW. Ultimately, those workers were able to overcome the anti-union campaign and win a first contract that included raises of up to 51% over three years, better benefits, and improved attendance policies.

In addition to the election at Webasto – Detroit, a clear majority of the approximately 35 workers at Webasto’s Hearns facility filed to form their union on August 27 with the UAW. An election date is in the process of being scheduled.

“Workers want a voice. Workers want to be able to have a free and fair election. Workers want to have their rights respected,” said Steve Gonzales, president of UAW Local 3000. “And we will never back down in making sure that workers win what they deserve.”

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