United Auto Workers Simultaneously Strikes at 3 Factories
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union Friday began a simultaneous strike at three factories owned by General Motors, Ford Motor, and Chrysler owner Stellantis....
Facts
- The United Auto Workers (UAW) union Friday began a simultaneous strike at three factories owned by General Motors, Ford Motor, and Chrysler owner Stellantis.1
- Union President Shawn Fain said more plants could face strikes if the manufacturers don’t present better offers. Among the union's demands is a wage increase of 36% over four years, while the companies have offered around 17.5% to 20%.2
- Pres. Joe Biden voiced support for the workers during a brief appearance at the White House, saying that he understands their frustrations. He called for the record profits to be 'shared by record contracts for the UAW.'3
- This is the first time ever that the UAW — which represents 150K union members — has staged a strike against all three companies at once. Currently, around 13K workers are striking.4
- The Anderson Economic Group estimates that if all UAW workers stage a 10-day strike it would cost the three companies approximately $1B and cost the economy more than $5B.5
- The strike began early Friday morning in the US. UAW characterized the action as 'our generation’s defining moment' for working-class Americans.6
Sources: 1Reuters, 2Associated Press, 3Guardian, 4NPR Online News, 5BBC News and 6Forbes.
Narratives
- Republican narrative, as provided by Daily caller. Democrats like to boast about how pro-union they are, but that unconditional support has empowered this all-to-powerful union to implement an economy-stifling strike. If Biden really had the workers’ well-being in mind his administration would have done more to prevent this walk-out that is going to crush the economy and, hopefully, his reelection chances.
- Democratic narrative, as provided by AlterNet. Republicans have stood by for decades while these companies’ profits and executive compensation have skyrocketed — far outpacing employee compensation and benefits. The Pres. Biden and Democrats are doing what they can to help the workers but the only ones to blame here are the exploitive companies and their GOP allies.
