Tag Archive for: Shawn Fain

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In a Victory for Autoworkers, Auto Tariffs Mark the Beginning of the End of NAFTA and the “Free Trade” Disaster

This afternoon, the Trump administration announced major tariffs on passenger cars and trucks entering the U.S. market, marking the beginning of the end of a thirty-plus year “free trade” disaster. This is a long-overdue shift away from a harmful economic framework that has devastated the working class and driven a race to the bottom across borders in the auto industry. It signals a return to policies that prioritize the workers who build this country—rather than the greed of ruthless corporations.

“We applaud the Trump administration for stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working class communities for decades. Ending the race to the bottom in the auto industry starts with fixing our broken trade deals, and the Trump administration has made history with today’s actions,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “But ending the race to the bottom also means securing union rights for autoworkers everywhere with a strong National Labor Relations Board, a decent retirement with Social Security benefits protected, healthcare for all workers including through Medicare and Medicaid, and dignity on and off the job. The UAW and the working class in general couldn’t care less about party politics; working people expect leaders to work together to deliver results. The UAW has been clear: we will work with any politician, regardless of party, who is willing to reverse decades of working-class people going backwards in the most profitable times in our nation’s history. These tariffs are a major step in the right direction for autoworkers and blue-collar communities across the country, and it is now on the automakers, from the Big Three to Volkswagen and beyond, to bring back good union jobs to the U.S.”

BRINGING BACK THOUSANDS OF GOOD, UNION AUTO JOBS

With these tariffs, thousands of good-paying blue collar auto jobs could be brought back to working-class communities across the United States within a matter of months, simply by adding additional shifts or lines in a number of underutilized auto plants. Right now, thousands of autoworkers are laid off at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis following recent decisions by auto executives to ship jobs to Mexico.

Across a dozen Big Three auto plants that have seen major declines, production has fallen by 2 million units per year in the past decade, while millions of vehicles sold here are made with low-wage, high-exploitation labor abroad. That means auto companies that have made record profits get to drive wages down further for both Mexican and U.S. workers while Wall Street and the corporate class get record payouts.

Those plants include Ford Flat Rock Assembly (Flat Rock, MI), Ford Louisville Assembly (Louisville, KY), Ford Ohio Assembly (Sheffield, OH), Ford Michigan Assembly (Wayne, MI), GM Fairfax (Kansas City, KS), GM Lansing Grand River (Lansing, MI), GM Factory Zero (Detroit & Hamtramck, MI), GM Spring Hill (Spring Hill, TN), Stellantis Warren Truck Assembly (Warren, MI), Stellantis Toledo Assembly (Toledo, OH), Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly (Sterling Heights, MI), Stellantis Jefferson North Assembly (Detroit, MI). The same pattern can be seen in the heavy truck industry, whether at Freightliner in North Carolina, Navistar in Ohio, or dozens of other employers across the economy.

The economic benefits of filling these plants back up with product and good auto jobs would be enormous and have a cascading effect throughout communities from Michigan to Tennessee.

At Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company recently violated labor law by unilaterally announcing the elimination of a shift during first contract negotiations. Volkswagen makes 75% of their North America product in Mexico for $7 an hour, and over 40% of their U.S. sales are produced by workers earning poverty wages in Mexico. That shift should be restored immediately as production shifts back to the US.

At Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Warren, Michigan, for example, over 1,000 autoworkers are laid off while the plant sits underutilized and $100,000 Stellantis trucks are built in Mexico for $3 an hour. These layoffs were announced less than six months ago and could be undone. Those jobs could be brought back to Michigan immediately with well-designed auto tariffs.

In addition to idle capacity at existing plants, there are plants that stand empty and with moderate retooling could easily employ tens of thousands of workers. Lordstown Assembly sits empty in Lordstown, Ohio, and employed nearly 10,000 autoworkers when NAFTA was passed. Belvidere Assembly is slated to reopen with around 1,500 jobs; as recently as 2019, the plant employed 5,000 autoworkers.

The Big Three have closed or spun off 65 facilities in the past 20 years. There is plenty of work to go around at profitable margins, and plenty of working-class people looking for good, union jobs. With a serious tariff regime, we can incentivize the Big Three and the rest of the auto industry to reinvest in the American autoworker, and America’s blue-collar communities.

WHAT THE WORKING CLASS NEEDS ON TRADE

Every time an autoworker dares to ask for fair pay, a decent retirement, healthcare, or work-life balance, the automakers threaten their job by exploiting a broken trade system that is set up to intimidate and threaten workers on both sides of the border.

The UAW has encouraged the Trump administration to take clear, aggressive action to bring back good, union auto jobs. We are heartened by the significant measures they have announced today, and we urge the administration to take similar action to protect and reshore the heavy truck sector. Beyond tariffs, a continued, dramatic shift in our country’s trade agreements and economic policies will be necessary to end the free trade disaster.

The next step is to immediately begin renegotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has only perpetuated NAFTA’s harmful effects by increasing the trade deficit with Mexico and allowing automakers to offshore U.S. jobs and drive a race to the bottom.

In a new trade deal, autoworkers have some simple demands:

  • A significant number of cars that are sold in the U.S. should be made in the U.S., with strong wages and good working conditions like those that generations of UAW autoworkers have fought and died for.
  • Companies must not be allowed to close factories and ship jobs to high-exploitation, low-wage countries, and to pad already-massive profits by driving a race to the bottom among autoworkers. This includes a North American minimum wage to significantly raise pay and benefits for Mexican autoworkers, along with stronger protections for labor rights and penalties for offshoring, so that workers are no longer forced to compete with one another over crumbs while the automakers walk away with a bigger and bigger slice of the pie.
  • Fix the auto parts supply chain, following the same principles: fair wages and benefits for all, and an increase in American-made parts for American-assembled and American-sold vehicles.

We can fix our broken trade deals to benefit workers. But we must be consistent, send clear signals to the auto industry, and make sure that working-class people – who have paid the price for so-called “free trade” for 30 years – don’t pay the price for this transition back to high-road manufacturing jobs.

As they shift their supply chains and investments to the US, auto companies that have enjoyed years of record profits should absorb the cost of these tariffs rather than passing them on to consumers, and the UAW would support legislative or regulatory action requiring them to do so. Workers must be held harmless during any disruption that accompanies the reshoring process, with financial support from the federal government if necessary.

And finally, the working class can’t wait. The auto companies have been given time to plan, and now it’s time to act.

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Volkswagen Chattanooga Workers Slammed with Crippling Health Care Costs—One in Three Struggles to Afford Auto Giant’s Subpar Insurance

Chattanooga, TN – Days after Volkswagen, the #2 automaker in the world, announced making $20.6 billion in profit in 2024, a new UAW survey of VW workers in Chattanooga reveals the devastating financial toll of VW’s substandard U.S. health care offerings.

A new comprehensive survey of nearly 1,800 Volkswagen’s Chattanooga workers paints a stark picture of a workforce burdened by inferior health care benefits and skyrocketing out-of-pocket expenses that not only lag industry standards, but have also contributed to widespread financial hardship, debt, and, in many cases, a decision to forgo necessary medical care altogether.

Nearly three out of four (73%) Volkswagen Chattanooga workers reported either being forced to choose between paying for medical care and other essential expenditures like rent and food or having borrowed money or declared bankruptcy to cover medical expenses; a rate that rises to four out of every five parents and caregivers with children on a VW health insurance plan.

The full report is available HERE. The 2025 health care survey of VW Chattanooga workers paints a dire picture of the real-world impact of the company’s substandard plans. Key findings include:

  • 67% reported being forced to choose between paying for medical care and other basic necessities, such as rent, utilities, and food.
  • 58% admitted to borrowing money—via credit cards, loans, 401(k) withdrawals, or from family and friends—or filing for bankruptcy due to medical expenses.
  • 57% currently have outstanding medical debt, including accounts in collections and wage garnishments.
  • 18% of survey respondents rely on publicly-funded TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, to insure their children – allowing VW to shift their responsibility to employees on to TN taxpayers.
  • 29% have faced financial hardship specifically due to medical bills from a workplace injury.
  • 20% have been forced to take on a second job simply to pay for their medical bills.

In addition to completing the survey, hundreds of VW workers surveyed shared personal stories about being forced to skip urgently necessary medical care and the extreme financial strain they’ve experienced due to VW’s lower standards.

  • One VW worker in the Battery Department shared that: “My wife is disabled so I am the only one working. She goes to the doctor when she needs to, but I have dental work that I have needed for almost 2 years and have not done due to the expense.”
  • A VW assembly worker reported: “I have had to forgo medical care due to the costs even though I pay for insurance, and I pay over a hundred dollars a month for my prescription.”
  • Another VW assembly worker said: “I went to the ER due to an illness last year—I couldn’t breathe. Bill was way too expensive, and I received 3 to 4 total. It hurt my finances tremendously as I had to figure out how to pay for my other bills that have gone up due to inflation.”
  • “At my last job I had better health care where I only had to pay $25 to see my primary doctor versus now it costs me $75 a visit until I hit my deductible,” said another VW worker. “Then two years ago I had a health scare where I had to go see a hematologist and when I got the bill I had to pay $500 out of pocket because I did not meet my deductible yet – versus at my last job, when I had to see a specialist, it only cost me a dime, and I was working for a much smaller company than Volkswagen.”
  • One VW worker said, “I’ve worked other jobs to make sure I can get my medical bills paid, but not now. Now I barely get my deductible paid and I don’t get to use my insurance because it’s time to start a new year, so I’m paying the deductible every year for my doctors’ visits and paying my monthly insurance for insurance I don’t get to use because of the deductible I have to reach before my insurance will cover anything. I have to have something major come up and pay it off before my insurance starts to cover my bills. It’s ridiculous and not right. I’m used to just paying a co-pay and everything else is covered, but when I started at Volkswagen all that changed and I started paying a lot out of my pocket. Yea I make more money here, but when you add in what I pay in for medical, I make less than I did at my last jobs.”

“Volkswagen should be ashamed that the U.S. workers who have helped build their massive profits are being forced to choose between putting food on the table and having health insurance,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “VW is the #2 automaker in the world, but they aren’t meeting the union auto standards in America – even of smaller and less profitable employers in the same state.  Although VW espouses respect for worker rights, they have egregiously violated federal U.S. labor law with an illegal shift reduction attempt in Chattanooga, where they should be ramping production up, not cutting it down. The CEO of VW got $11 million last year, and their shareholders got billions; now, American workers are demanding the fair standards and excellent health coverage we deserve.”

Volkswagen’s U.S. workforce faces lower health care and workplace safety standards compared to the benefits provided to employees in other countries, effectively creating a second tier of workers in the American South. Survey data reveals that VW’s health plan is so costly and inadequate that more than one in ten workers opt out entirely, with some stating they simply cannot afford it. Many employees also noted that Volkswagen lags behind its competitors in providing quality health care, despite the company’s substantial profits.

“Volkswagen workers should not have to start a GoFundMe in order to pay their medical bills,” said Amanda Muellemann, an assembly worker who could not afford a necessary surgery and had to go to extreme lengths to pay for her care.

In 2024, Volkswagen reported $20.6 billion in profits, bringing their four-year profit total to $92.4 billion — a 38% increase. Despite this, the 4,000 workers who build its vehicles in Chattanooga are still waiting for a fair contract that brings them up to par with industry standards – and are using the fight for the first-ever union contract at a foreign car manufacturer in America as an opportunity to force VW to reinvest in their U.S. workforce.

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“NAFTA Sucks”: In New Video, UAW President Shawn Fain Calls for an End to Broken Trade Deals

DETROIT, MI – In a new video, UAW President Shawn Fain shares his experience as a young electrician in Kokomo, Indiana, in 1992 and how trade policy won his vote in that presidential election.

The new video, “NAFTA Sucks,” is available here, and the media is invited to use the footage.

The lesson for working class politics today is clear: working people need an alternative to the free trade disaster that has wrecked blue collar communities across the country and driven a continental race to the bottom that has hurt American and Mexican autoworkers alike.

The UAW has called for a renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which has not stopped the bleeding of good auto jobs from Michigan to Tennessee and beyond. The Trump Administration’s expected auto tariffs could be a step in the right direction towards ending the free trade disaster inaugurated by NAFTA thirty-three years ago.

Full transcript available below.

NAFTA SUCKS

SHAWN FAIN: In 1992, I was a 22 year old apprentice electrician in Kokomo, Indiana watching the Presidential Debate between George Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.

During that debate, one candidate won my vote immediately.

They were talking about NAFTA — the North American Free Trade Agreement — which Congress had yet to approve.

ROSS PEROT: “We have got to stop sending jobs overseas. You move your factory south of the border, pay a dollar an hour for your labor, have no healthcare – that’s the most expensive single element of making a car – have no environmental controls, no pollution controls, and no retirement, and you don’t care about anything but making money. There will be a giant sucking sound going south.”

My decision was made in that moment.

I saw the threat in my community. If corporations were allowed to kill good blue collar jobs in the Midwest to pay poverty wages to some poor Mexican worker, they were gonna do it.

And workers on both sides of the border would end up paying the price.

That’s why I voted for Ross Perot.

Let’s look at what has happened since NAFTA passed.

Over 90,000 manufacturing facilities have disappeared in the United States, wrecking communities, ripping families apart, and leaving workers on unemployment or struggling to survive on low-wage jobs.

Every plant closure is a bomb dropped in working class communities.

You can literally see the blast zones in Kokomo, Flint, St Louis, and beyond.

The Big Three automakers alone have closed 65 facilities in the past 22 years.

I would love to say today that things have changed, but as we’re talking right now, more work is being shipped out of the country, and more jobs are being lost or are in jeopardy of being lost.

Stellantis has laid off thousands of workers at Warren Truck while the trucks they use to build are being made in Mexico.

John Deere, Mack Trucks, and many other companies are relocating work to Mexico right now, all in an effort to drive a race to the bottom.

Economists and talking heads want to say that tariffs are bad for the economy.

You know what’s bad for the economy?

Letting corporations ship jobs to other countries where workers make $3 an hour so the company can sell a truck for $100,000 and pocket the savings.

While American workers and Mexican workers scrape to get by.

Tell the workers who used to work at Lordstown, Ohio that our trade system is working.

Tell it to workers at Romeo Engine.

Or Baltimore Transmission.

Or Cleveland Casting.

Or Twin Cities Assembly.

Or Oklahoma City Assembly.

Janesville Assembly.

Wilmington Assembly.

Fredericksburg Powertrain.

Or St. Louis Assembly.

The list goes on and on.

There isn’t a state in this country that hasn’t been devastated by the free trade disaster of the last thirty three years.

The status quo is killing us.

Some economists are trying to scare anyone, saying that the cost of tariffs will be passed on to working Americans.

But the cost of NAFTA was passed on to working Americans in the form of plant closures, deaths of despair, and economic devastation.

We feel its effects every day.

Free trade isn’t free. It’s a disaster. And it’s time to end it.

The experts said NAFTA would help the working class.

They were wrong.

Ross Perot was right.

NAFTA sucks and it’s time to fix our broken trade laws.

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UAW Files Federal Labor Charges Against Volkswagen for Violating Workers’ Rights in Chattanooga

Chattanooga — The UAW has filed federal labor charges against Volkswagen for violating U.S. labor law at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant. The company is attempting to cut jobs and make major changes without first negotiating with the union, as required by law.

In a statement, UAW President Shawn Fain said:

“Nearly a year ago, thousands of Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga voted to join the UAW, to win the respect and dignified life that union autoworkers at the Big Three have enjoyed for generations.

Since then, the company has failed to meet the basic standard at the bargaining table that 150,000 American autoworkers have won at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.

Volkswagen is the second most profitable automaker in the world. On Tuesday, the company reported over $20 billion in profits in 2024. And on Wednesday, they announced their intention to cut a shift at their single American plant, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

This is a company that makes 75% of their North American products in Mexico, paying highly exploited workers around $7 an hour to sell cars for tens of thousands of dollars in the US. They do this to avoid paying a living wage and drive a race to the bottom in the auto industry. It’s bad for workers everywhere.

And instead of coming to a fair agreement for their American autoworkers in Tennessee, Volkswagen is choosing to attack American auto jobs.

The UAW has notified the Trump Administration of Volkswagen’s unacceptable, anti-union, anti-worker, and anti-American conduct. It is no accident that they want to ram through a layoff in America in the days before expected auto tariffs take effect, as they profit from high exploitation labor in Mexico.

The 4,000 autoworkers in Chattanooga deserve better. America deserves better. And the UAW is going to fight like hell to deliver for Chattanooga, for Volkswagen autoworkers, and for the whole working class.”

This latest charge highlights a continuing trend of union-busting tactics by Volkswagen aimed at silencing American workers. The UAW is committed to holding the company accountable and protecting workers’ rights on the job.

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Statement from UAW President Shawn Fain Condemning Attacks on Higher Education

The UAW represents 100,000 higher education workers, including campus staff, student workers, faculty, research assistants, and postdoctoral fellows, at Columbia University and beyond. 

Drawing on our long tradition of protest, support for international peace, and commitment to education for all, the UAW condemns in the fullest terms recent actions taken by the Trump administration to cut federal research funding; to detain, intimidate, and deport students; and to attack our members’ First Amendment rights. 

As we stated under the previous Presidential administration, “The UAW will never support the mass arrest or intimidation of those exercising their right to protest, strike, or speak out against injustice.”  

The Trump administration’s decisions will impact critical research, academic work, and the livelihoods of all campus workers including thousands of UAW members, and are unacceptable.

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Breaking: Union Drive for Volkswagen Workers Goes National As New Jersey VW Workers File to Join UAW

Cranbury, NJ – The push to unionize Volkswagen has gone national, as VW autoworkers at a large distribution center in New Jersey have reached supermajority support and just became the first VW workers on the East Coast to file to unionize with the UAW. They join more than 4,000 VW workers in Chattanooga, TN, who won their union with UAW nearly a year ago. The New Jersey facility is now VW’s second in the country to organize with the UAW in the past 12 months.

“Every autoworker in America deserves a union,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Volkswagen workers made history in Chattanooga last April, and now, New Jersey VW workers are stepping up. We won’t stop until every autoworker who wants a union has one.”

“We saw what was going on at the Big Three, and then Volkswagen workers in Tennessee won their union despite pushback from management,” said Sergio Sumano Jr, a warehouse worker with 7 years at the Volkswagen PDC/RDC in New Jersey. “Now, it’s our turn. We deserve fair pay, affordable benefits, and a secure retirement – just like every other unionized autoworker in the U.S. If Volkswagen wants to operate in America, they need to treat us with the same dignity as their workers overseas.”

“Operating in New Jersey means operating with full respect for labor law and the rights of working people,” said Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), who represents the congressional district in New Jersey where the VW workers filed and many are constituents.  “I’m proud to stand with the inspiring New Jersey Volkswagen workers unionizing with UAW and telling corporate power that working people will not be brought to heel.”

“Volkswagen has been getting away with exploiting their U.S. workers for far too long,” said UAW Region 9 Director Dan Vicente. “It’s clear the balance of power is shifting. Autoworkers across the country witnessed workers demanding their due during the Stand Up Strike. When they see what can be won when we unite together, anything is possible.”

After winning their union on April 19, 2024, VW workers in Chattanooga are now fighting for a first agreement that reflects unionized auto manufacturing standards in the U.S. as well as the company’s record-breaking profits. Volkswagen lags behind its competitors in wages and benefits and treats its U.S. workers worse than its foreign workforce. With the one-year anniversary of the workers’ union win approaching, pressure is mounting at the bargaining table.

“Volkswagen racked up $24.4 billion in profits in 2023 by paying their large U.S. workforce poverty wages with shameful workplace benefits and conditions,” said Steve Cochran, a UAW member and 14 year skilled trades worker at Volkswagen Chattanooga. “Volkswagen must be held to account for failing for decades to provide good jobs for U.S. workers, and the only way that’s going to happen will be by workers in VW, Tennessee, and elsewhere standing together to take action and demand better. Since we won our union, we’ve won key protections at work including the right to have a voice on the issues that matter most – and now we’re working to negotiate a historic first contract that will finally give Volkswagen workers in the South the same good union standards workers have won at Stellantis, GM, and Ford.”

Volkswagen PDC and RDC workers in New Jersey distribute aftermarket parts across the country. They will be the first Volkswagen distribution workers to join UAW; in Tennessee, the Volkswagen workers assemble cars inside auto plants. Regardless of location, job, or employer, UAW members welcome all Volkswagen and other non-union workers across the country to join the fight for economic and social justice, in the auto industry and beyond.

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UAW Reaches Tentative Agreement with Rolls-Royce

Indianapolis — The UAW has reached a groundbreaking tentative agreement with Rolls-Royce ahead of the contract’s expiration at midnight on Wednesday, February 26. This agreement follows a major rally the day prior and the escalation of a credible strike threat against the world’s second-largest manufacturer of aircraft engines.

The five-year agreement, covering more than 800 workers in Indianapolis, delivers significant economic gains, including the elimination of wage tiers, double-digit wage increases, a true profit-sharing plan that the company cannot manipulate arbitrarily, improved retirement benefits, and a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) that will now be rolled into base pay for all workers.

In a direct address to membership, UAW President Shawn Fain outlined key parts of the deal and reflected on the tenacity of the Rolls-Royce membership and bargaining committee.

To view President Fain’s remarks in full, head to UAW’s Facebook page, and read Fain’s prepared remarks below. The media is invited to use these materials.
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UAW President Shawn Fain Prepared Remarks on Rolls-Royce Negotiations, February 26, 2025

For months, the Local 933 bargaining team has been hard at work, negotiating to win a contract for our members that truly represents the massive profits they make for this company.

Our members at Rolls-Royce do incredibly important work.

The company is the second largest manufacturer of aircraft engines in the world, and the facility here in Indianapolis produces aircraft engines for our nation’s military.

Our members are proud of the work they do, and it’s their blood, sweat, and tears that make Rolls-Royce’s billions in profits possible.

I’m proud to stand here today with this bargaining team and Region 2B Director Dave Green to announce to our membership that we have reached a tentative agreement that reflects the hard work and sacrifices made by our members.

So, let’s take a look at what’s in the TA. First: We are ending wage tiers at Rolls-Royce!

For the lowest tier — Tier 4 — you are going to see an $18.79 raise over the life of this agreement. That’s a raise of 68%.

That’s a life changing wage increase.

For Tier 2, they will immediately be brought to the legacy rate.

At the beginning of the final year of the contract, ALL PRODUCTION WORKERS at Rolls-Royce will be making a top wage of $46.37 an hour. And that does NOT include COLA.

Similarly, At the beginning of the final year of the contract, skilled trades will be making over $50 an hour.

Next, I want to talk about COLA.

Rolls-Royce has a big COLA. But not everyone gets it, and nobody gets it folded into their base pay.

This means that our wages don’t necessarily keep up with inflation over time. It also means that when workers get a raise, it doesn’t include the COLA.

With this agreement, EVERYONE gets COLA, with the same strong formula we’ve had previously.

And everyone will get COLA folded into their base pay.

We also are seeing healthy general wage increases, more than twice as high as the previous contract.

We told the company, we needed wage increases in EVERY year of the agreement.

At the new UAW, we will no longer accept lump sum bonuses in the place of wage increases which increase our lifetime earnings.

That’s how you raise the standard of living for the working class. That’s what we deserve and we aren’t going to accept anything less.

I’m also excited to announce that we won back true profit sharing at Rolls Royce.

For years, Rolls-Royce has been giving out a bonus that they called profit share, but that bonus was based on a formula that wasn’t transparent and that management could change on a whim.

Now we are back to a profit sharing formula based on the company’s publicly shared profit margins. That’s the same way we do it at the Big Three.

Our new profit sharing formula means the company can’t lie, they can’t hide, and it means that Rolls-Royce members are going to earn on average thousands of more dollars than they have in the past.

We worked hard to get more vacation for our members.

Some workers in the middle of their career are going to see an additional two days of vacation. Workers with four years or less are going to receive an ENTIRE additional week of vacation.

One of the biggest and thorniest issues in bargaining was retirement.

For legacy workers, we are excited to announce that we successfully increased the monthly Basic benefit rate from $60.94 to $65 per year of credited service.

That’s a bigger increase to the monthly Basic benefit rate than the last two contracts combined. It’s the biggest increase in twenty years.

For those with a 401(k), we raised the company match from 5% to 7% while keeping the additional 3% company contribution.

There is so much more that was won in this contract, but these are just a few of the highlights that we were excited to share with you tonight.

While the bargaining team behind me are extremely proud of this TA and all of the work that it took to win it, we know that, ultimately, this decision is up to our members and our members alone.

The membership is always the highest authority in the UAW.

In the coming days, Local 933 will be rolling out highlighters and sharing the TA’d language and holding roll-out meetings where members will be able to ask our bargaining team any questions they have before they vote on whether to ratify this agreement.

I want to close by saying this bargaining team has worked their assess off for the membership.

They stood up to the company and demanded a historic agreement and I’m proud to say that is exactly what they won.

Following the success of the Stand Up Strike at the Big Three, we have seen UAW members win massive gains in historic agreements at Allison Transmission, Daimler Trucks, Cornell University, and now here at Rolls-Royce.

And all of those victories were made possible by the membership. Winning strong agreements is only possible when our members are organized and united.

It only happens when the company looks over the shoulder of our bargaining team and sees an army of fired up and fed up members who are ready to do what it takes to win what they deserve.

That is exactly what happened here this week when hundreds of members showed up to rally in support of their bargaining team and show the company that they were ready to strike if needed.

I’m so proud of my UAW family and I’m incredibly honored to be back home again in Indiana, the home of Local 933 to celebrate this massive victory.

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UAW President Shawn Fain & Rolls-Royce Bargaining Committee to Announce Major Update Ahead of Midnight Contract Expiration at Rolls-Royce Plant

Indianapolis, IN — At 10 pm on Wednesday, February 26, UAW President Shawn Fain will provide an update on negotiations between UAW Local 933 members and Rolls-Royce. The current contract covering more than 800 workers at the company’s Indianapolis facility, which manufactures aircraft engines for U.S. government contracts, expires at midnight.

With tensions growing, workers are demanding equal pay for equal work, cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for all employees, and better retirement benefits. The negotiations come as Rolls-Royce posts record profits. The company reported $2 billion in profits for 2023, a staggering 144% increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, the CEO’s compensation soared to $16.9 million, a 255% jump. About 30% of Rolls-Royce’s revenue is generated from the U.S. market.

On February 13, UAW members at Rolls-Royce voted overwhelmingly, with 99.5% support and 86% participation, to authorize a strike if necessary. The strong backing reflects the workers’ resolve to secure a fair contract amid Rolls-Royce’s record profits.

With major recent victories at the Big Three automakers and Daimler Truck, Rolls-Royce workers are now joining other UAW members in the “stand up movement” to fight against corporate greed. Currently, more than 4,000 UAW members at Volkswagen are pushing for their first contract in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after forming their union last April.

WHAT: UAW President Shawn Fain will provide an update on negotiations with Rolls-Royce on Facebook Live.

WHEN: Wednesday, February 26 at 10:00pm ET

WHERE: https://www.youtube.com/uaw

WHO: UAW President Shawn Fain, Rolls-Royce UAW Local 933 Bargaining Committee

*RSVP to https://uaw.org/press/questions/ to receive latest updates.

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Lucid Workers Win Substantial Back Pay and Reinstatement in Dramatic Settlement

If you are a worker at Lucid who wants to get in contact to organize your workplace, click here.

Workers organizing at the electric vehicle maker Lucid have won a settlement with a quarter-million dollars in back pay, the right to return to work, and a sweeping cease and desist order that stops the company from committing a long list of unfair labor practices.

The settlement, approved on Dec. 31 by the National Labor Relations Board, is a Formal Board Settlement. Formal settlements are typically reserved for companies committing serious labor law violations. The Lucid settlement stems from unfair labor practice charges filed by the UAW for the 2023 firing of three workers organizing with the union. Those firings and other anti-union efforts by Lucid were found to be so extreme that the NLRB sought and obtained a rare 10(j) injunction against the company this September. 

“This settlement shows a better way forward for Lucid and companies like it,” said Lucid worker Amie Hansen, who received $120,000 in back pay in the settlement and the right to return permanently to her job. “Instead of trying to block our right to organize, Lucid should have been working with us all along as we’ve struggled to get this company off the ground. Respect for the voice of workers is critical to the long-term success of this company.”

The settlement ensures that Lucid workers will have the right to make their voices heard. In the settlement, Lucid accepts the Board’s order that it must cease and desist committing a list of nine unfair labor practices including:  

  • Firing or threatening employees for engaging in protected organizing activities 
  • Surveilling employees to discover if they’re engaged in organizing 
  • Confiscating union literature from non-work areas 


Lucid also must take positive steps to make whole three fired workers with back pay, damages and interest payments totaling $258,000. In addition, within 14 days of the Dec. 31 order, the company must distribute a video about the settlement to workers at Lucid’s two facilities in Casa Grande, Ariz. The video will be recorded in a company cafe area by a Board agent who will inform workers of the settlement and their rights to organize under U.S. law. The company will also post physical notices of the settlement and workers’ rights at its Casa Grande locations.

“Every autoworker in America can take heart from this settlement,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Lucid is backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the deepest pockets in the world. But Lucid workers stood up and won justice. They showed that no matter how big the challenge workers can win when they stand together and fight for a better life.”

“This is a significant victory for worker and climate justice,” said UAW Region 6 Director Mike Miller.  “We’re building the green economy to create a more sustainable future. But we will only have a truly sustainable future if we build our economy around protecting both the planet and workers’ right to organize for justice on the job without employer interference.” 

The UAW has aggressively supported the Lucid workers’ fight to form their union. When Lucid fired the workers for organizing in February 2023, the UAW filed multiple unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB. Acting on the union’s charges, the Board sought and won the 10(j) injunction, which ordered the company to offer interim reinstatement to the workers even before the settlement was approved on Dec. 31.

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