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.