{"id":1235609,"date":"2023-09-29T12:46:58","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T12:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2023\/09\/uaw-stand-up-strike-autoworkers-union-shawn-fain-big-three\/"},"modified":"2023-09-29T13:09:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T13:09:11","slug":"the-uaw-strike-just-got-even-bigger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/09\/29\/the-uaw-strike-just-got-even-bigger\/","title":{"rendered":"The UAW Strike Just Got Even Bigger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n\n\n\n

Seven thousand more UAW members just walked off the job, expanding the strike to two more plants. Twenty-five thousand autoworkers are now on strike, and the walkout could continue to escalate if the Big Three don\u2019t budge in negotiations.<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\n Striking autoworkers march in front of the Stellantis Mopar facility on September 26, 2023, in Ontario, California. (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times<\/cite> via Getty Images)\n <\/figcaption> \n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n \n

Seven thousand United Auto Workers (UAW) members at two more assembly plants have walked off the job at noon ET today, UAW president Shawn Fain announced in a Facebook Live<\/a> appearance this morning. Joining the strike are Ford\u2019s Chicago Assembly plant and General Motors\u2019 Lansing Delta Township Assembly in Michigan.<\/p>\n

Fain announced that Stellantis would be spared this time. The union had been expected to strike all three companies, but, said Region 1 director LaShawn English, three minutes before Fain was scheduled to go on Facebook Live, the UAW received frantic emails from company representatives.<\/p>\n

According to Fain, Stellantis made \u201csignificant progress\u201d on cost-of-living allowances, the right not to cross a picket line, and the right to strike over product commitments and plant closures. \u201cWe are excited about this momentum at Stellantis and hope it continues,\u201d Fain said.<\/p>\n

Fain made clear that negotiations with all three companies are ongoing. \u201cI\u2019m still very hopeful that we can reach a deal that reflects the incredible sacrifices and contributions our members have made over the last decade,\u201d he said to sixty thousand viewers on Facebook. \u201cBut I also know that what we win at the bargaining table depends on the power we build on the job. It\u2019s time to use that power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \n\n \n \n \n

“See You Next Week \u2014 Maybe?”<\/h2>\n \n

Yesterday afternoon, UAW Local 551 member Marcelina Pedraza said her coworkers at the Chicago Assembly plant were anxiously awaiting the news of the next targets.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody’s on edge,\u201d said Pedraza, who is also a member of the reform caucus Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD). \u201cIt\u2019s like the NFL draft picks. Are we going to be called next? Are we going to get a tentative agreement?\u201d<\/p>\n

She said workers were looking forward to Fain\u2019s Facebook bargaining update, crediting the reform leadership with greater transparency and information sharing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy last two contracts were, \u2018bargaining is going fine,\u2019\u201d she said, repeating what previous administrations said. \u201cThen eventually, \u2018Here\u2019s a shitty contract, we want you to vote yes on it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

When Pedraza clocked out Thursday, she and her skilled trades coworkers joked with the supervisor: \u201cSee you next week \u2014 maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pedraza and her coworkers will make 25,000 autoworkers now on picket lines as part of the union\u2019s escalating “stand-up strike,” out of 146,000 UAW members at the Big Three.<\/p>\n