Members of UAW Local 578 have a proud history of building defense and all-terrain vehicles for Oshkosh Defense. For more than eight decades, our members have built this company and its reputation for top-tier production and manufacturing work. We have also used our voice to negotiate good, union jobs that fuel our local economy and support families throughout the Fox Valley. Unfortunately, we have lost more than 1,000 of these jobs in roughly the last decade.
That’s why we’re telling Oshkosh Defense to invest in us and build the new USPS vehicle with union workers who have built the company. We can build it!
Last year, the United States Postal Service (USPS) awarded Oshkosh Defense a multibillion-dollar contract to build up to 165,000 “next generation delivery vehicles” (NGDVs). UAW Local 578 members in Oshkosh have done prototype work since the contract was awarded. But instead of doing the work in Oshkosh, the company announced the NGDV contract would be produced in a new facility in another state. And rather than electrifying the fleet, the USPS and Oshkosh plan to build tens of thousands of gas vehicles that get just 8.6 miles per gallon.
Generations of Wisconsin union workers have built Oshkosh Defense for decades, establishing the world-class reputation that helped the company win this contract in the first place. This vehicle is a huge opportunity to restore quality union jobs to the community that built this company.
We can’t allow Oshkosh Defense to leave community members or our climate in the dust. Tell Oshkosh to build these NGDVs union. We can build it!
