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After 200-Plus Days on Strike, UAW Local 171 Wins New Contract

UAW Local 171 members that work at Sherwin-Williams Co. in Williamsport, Maryland, have proven the old labor adage “One Day Longer” true once again. After walking the picket lines on strike for over 200 days, workers have won a new agreement with significant contractual gains.

The three-year contract includes an increase in starting wages and top pay, as well as improved pension multipliers. The wage progression to top pay was also reduced from three years to two.

Another major win for Local 171 members is that the entire time workers spent on strike will count towards their seniority for pensions, vacation, disciplinary action, and seniority.

“I want to commend these brave UAW members for their resilience,” said Region 8 Director, Tim Smith. “They were on strike since November of last year, and they absolutely refused to allow the challenges of a prolonged strike to break their solidarity. It’s a testament to their commitment to one another.”

“Region 8 would like to thank all those who stood in solidarity with our members and their families this entire time with donations, as well as their prayers,” Assistant Director George Palmer said. “Thank you to all of the retirees and active members who stood on the picket lines in support of Local 171 as well. Today we celebrate another victory in collective bargaining.”

The Williamsport-area plant makes paint products for Sherwin-Williams Co.

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UAW’S KANSAS CITY CHAMPS WELCOMED AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Two big Kansas City winners were honored at the White House on Monday.  

Along with the Super Bowl LVII Champion Kansas City Chiefs, President Joe Biden welcomed brand-new UAW member Hafsa Sheikh-Hussein. She was there representing over 400 workers at the Yanfeng plant outside Kansas City in Riverside, MO., who voted to join UAW Local 710 last month. 

Yanfeng workers organized to put an end to low pay, lack of seniority rights, understaffed shifts, and little to no work-life balance at the facility. 

“Winning our union was a big deal and getting to celebrate it with the Super Bowl champions made it even more special,” said Sheikh-Hussein, who works as a quality technician at Yanfeng in Riverside. “Just like the Chiefs’ victory lifted up Kansas City, the improvements we win in a first contract are going to make life better for our whole community.” 

Biden honored the Chiefs in a ceremony on the White House lawn and invited both Sheikh-Hussein and UAW Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell.  

“During the ceremony, the Chiefs talked about the adversity they faced during the season,” said Director Campbell. “How it was unity that allowed them to rise above it—unity and teamwork. That’s so true in our world too. The Yanfeng workers won big because they were united.” 

After the event, both Campbell and Sheik-Hussein met briefly with the President. “I was shaking his hand,” Sheikh-Hussein said, “and when I told him I was UAW, his face lit up and his handshake got even stronger.” 

 “I’ve been with the UAW my whole life,” the President responded. “[The UAW was] the first union to endorse me when I was a 29-year-old kid running for the Senate.”  

“Hafsa and Yanfeng workers won big, and it’s great that President Biden honored their victory. But we could have some big losses in the Midwest if our elected officials don’t fight for strong EV job protections and also to keep good jobs at Master Lock in Milwaukee, Oshkosh Truck and Stellantis in Belvidere,” Director Campbell said, referring to three UAW worksites currently under threat of major job loss.  

With the victory at Yanfeng in Riverside, UAW members have now organized six Yanfeng plants in North America. Over 1,000 UAW members work at the supplier in Highland Park, Romulus, and Monroe, Michigan, Mississauga, Ontario, McCalla, Alabama, and at Riverside. The Riverside plant produces parts for the General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, represented by UAW Local 31. 

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UAW Members Begin 100-Day Countdown

In 100 days, contracts expire for 150,000 autoworkers at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. UAW members are gearing up to win big for working class communities across the country.

This contract fight will be the UAW’s defining moment as the auto industry transitions to electric vehicles. We’re setting a new standard, and members are united in the fight for our core demands:

  • Ending wage and benefit tiers that divide workers
  • Bringing back cost-of-living-adjustments (COLA)
  • Job security when companies are making record profits
  • Building a sustainable future for workers who build electric vehicles

The Big Three have made a quarter of a trillion dollars in North American profits in the past 10 years, while autoworkers still endure Great Recession-era wages and benefits. UAW autoworkers saved the auto industry 15 years ago and were never made whole.

It’s time for the Big Three to make it right.

We need your help to make sure they do.

Can we count on you?

WATCH: UAW members are back in the fight! https://youtu.be/r71X1Mee7nY

CNBC: UAW Union Outlines Demands Ahead of Critical Negotiations with Detroit Automakers
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/01/uaw-negotiation-demands-ahead-of-detroit-automaker-talks.html

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Back in the Fight: Our Generation’s Defining Moment at the Big Three

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.”

View the full recording of the Town Hall, here.

Download the slides shown at the Town Hall, here.

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STATEMENT FROM UAW VICE PRESIDENT MIKE BOOTH ON ANNIVERSARY OF GM BANKRUPTCY

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.”

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Region 4 Veterans Conference Report

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Webasto Workers Vote to Join UAW Local 3000

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!”

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Constellium Workers Who Supply Ford Plants Launch Unfair Labor Practice Strike

VAN BUREN CHARTER TOWNSHIP, MI – As of midnight on the morning of May 17th,160 workers at Constellium Automotive are on strike, after weeks of the company refusing to bargain in good faith. The plant supplies parts for the Ford F-150, F-150 Lightning, Explorer and Super Duty at six UAW-represented Ford Assembly plants,

The workers, members of UAW Local 174, are seeking to address serious health and safety issues, along with unfair discipline from management.

“Our negotiating team has met with the company nine times since April 18th,” UAW Region 1A Director Laura Dickerson said. “And on every single occasion, Constellium has made it very clear they have zero interest in taking our members’ proposals seriously. This is a prime example of employer arrogance forcing the hand of its workforce.”

The UAW has filed unfair labor practice charges against the company for bargaining in bad faith and expects to resume negotiations this week.

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