“Everything is on the table,” said United Auto Workers union president Shawn Fain.
QUICK FACTS:
- Thirteen thousand members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union are on strike against the “Big Three” automakers after the union and automakers failed to reach an agreement.
- Workers chose to strike a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan; and a Stellantis plant in Toledo, Ohio.
- Each of the “Big Three” automakers—GM, Ford, and Stellantis, formerly Fiat and Chrysler—are headquartered near Detroit, Michigan, and have come to be known as Detroit’s “Big Three.”
- This is the first time in the union’s history that it is striking against the Big Three companies simultaneously.
- In previous strikes, UAW focused on one company, like GM in 2019.
- The strike comes amid a push toward electric vehicles (EVs), which require fewer workers and result in greater wealth for automaker CEOs.
- “The looming strike by the United Auto Workers is as much a protest against Bidenomics as it is the policies of General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Stellantis,” Breitbart’s John Carney reported.
WHAT WORKERS HOPE TO ACHIEVE FROM STRIKE:
- Although the union demanded a 36% wage increase over four years, GM and Ford offered a 20% raise and Stellantis offered a 17.5% raise.
- According to UAW’s president Shawn Fain, “They could double our raises and not raise car prices and still make millions of dollars in profits. We’re not the problem. Corporate greed is the problem.”
- For example, in 2022, Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, earned almost $29 million, which is over 350 times the paycheck of most GM employees.
- The union is also looking to restore cost-of-living pay raises and defined-benefit pensions for new hires.
- Workers also desire a 32-hour work week with pay equivalent to 40 hours.
- One union member on strike said she enjoys her job, but she believes “we deserve more.”
BACKGROUND:
- President Joe Biden, the so-called “most pro-union president,” addressed the ongoing strike by stating that auto companies have seen “record profits” because of the “extraordinary skill and sacrifices of the UAW workers.”
- Despite being “pro-union,” Biden’s green agenda is threatening autoworkers.
- In describing that “strong unions are critical to a growing economy,” Biden said “That’s especially true as we transition to a clean energy future, which we’re in the process of doing.”
- “I believe that transition should be fair and a win-win for autoworkers and auto companies,” Biden said.
