The United Auto Workers union is on strike against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, the first time in its history that it has struck all three of the nation’s unionized automakers at the same time.
With all three automakers reporting record or near-record profits, the union was trying to recapture many benefits they had been forced to give up more than a decade ago when the companies were cash starved and on the brink of bankruptcy.
The unions gave up a bunch of concessions when the automakers needed it most. Now that they are flush with cash and the workers are in a place of need, it’s time to take those concessions back, for the sake of their more recent hires. Fuck forced overtime as well.
The partial rotating “Stand-up” strike is an interesting move and definitely has the automakers stutter-step a bit, because they had their part stockpiles and narratives ready for an immediate full blown strike. The stories the car manufacturers ran in media sayimg “The union isn’t making any more parts so cars are expensive waaaah” won’t hold much weight for now.
I wonder whether the UAW is planning to eye inventory levels to best time a full-blown strike when it hurts most, waiting for employer lockouts or waiting for the car manufacturers to piss them off enough.
The unions gave up a bunch of concessions when the automakers needed it most. Now that they are flush with cash and the workers are in a place of need, it’s time to take those concessions back, for the sake of their more recent hires. Fuck forced overtime as well.
The
partialrotating “Stand-up” strike is an interesting move and definitely has the automakers stutter-step a bit, because they had their part stockpiles and narratives ready for an immediate full blown strike. The stories the car manufacturers ran in media sayimg “The union isn’t making any more parts so cars are expensive waaaah” won’t hold much weight for now.I wonder whether the UAW is planning to eye inventory levels to best time a full-blown strike when it hurts most, waiting for employer lockouts or waiting for the car manufacturers to piss them off enough.