UAW President Shawn Fain announced that the union’s strike authorization vote passed with near universal approval from the 150,000 union workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
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Final votes are still being tabulated, but the current combined average across the Big Three was 97% in favor of strike authorization. The vote does not guarantee a strike will be called, only that the union has the right to call a strike if the Big Three refuse to reach a fair deal.
“Our union’s membership is clearly fed up with living paycheck-to-paycheck while the corporate elite and billionaire class continue to make out like bandits,†said UAW President Fain. “The Big Three have been breaking the bank while we have been breaking our backs.â€
UAW President Fain was elected to office in the union’s first ever direct election and has broken with tradition by refusing to shake hands with Big Three CEOs prior to bargaining and refusing to bargain the UAW’s core economic demands in secret, choosing instead to publicly announce them to the membership and to provide ongoing bargaining updates over social media.
The union’s demands include the elimination of tiered wages and benefits, wage increases to offset inflation and match the generous salary increases of company executives over the last four years, the re-establishment of cost-of-living allowances and defined benefit pensions and retiree healthcare, the right to strike over plant closures, significant increases to current retiree benefits, and more paid time off to be with family.
“Our members’ expectations are high because Big Three profits are so high. The Big Three made a combined $21 billion in profits in just the first six months of this year.
"That’s on top of the quarter-trillion dollars in North American profits they made over the last decade. While Big Three executives and shareholders got rich, UAW members got left behind. Our message to the Big Three is simple: record profits mean record contracts.â€
The strike authorization vote at General Motors passed by 96%. The following is a statement from UAW Vice President Mike Booth, director of the UAW-General Motors Department:
“The highest authority is the membership, and this is definitively outlined within our UAW Constitution. Today the 46,000 UAW represented members at General Motors clearly spoke with a unified voice when the strike authorization passed by 96%,†said UAW Vice President Mike Booth, director of the UAW-General Motors Department.
“General Motors has made insane record profits in the past few years and the UAW membership is only demanding their fair share. Today, the members put the company on notice.â€
The strike authorization vote at Ford passed by 98% for hourly represented workers and 99% by salaried represented workers. The following is a statement from UAW Vice President Chuck Browning, director of the UAW-Ford Department:
“I’m proud of the 59,000 Ford workers who have stood together to send a clear and united message to the company,†said UAW Vice President Chuck Browning, director of the UAW-Ford Department.
“Ford earned $76 billion in North American profits between 2013 and 2022 and their profits are once again surging in the first half of this year. This resounding strike authorization vote by our Ford members shows that they are ready to go the distance and do what is necessary to claim their fair share of Ford’s success.â€
The strike authorization vote at Stellantis passed by 95%. The following is a statement from UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, director of the UAW-Stellantis Department:
“The 44,000 UAW members at Stellantis have said with one voice that they are demanding an end to tiers, COLA and big wage increases like the Stellantis executives have enjoyed,†said UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, director of the UAW-Stellantis Department. ■