United Auto Workers (UAW) Union Gives the Green Light to Strike for 150,000 Workers
Jose Nino
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On August Friday, 2023, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union authorized a strike in negotiations with major automobile manufacturers, per the union.
The union voted 97% in support of a strike for the 150,000 autoworkers it represents as it is still in the process of negotiating with the Big Three automakers, which are made up of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, per a press release disseminated by the union. The union is calling for wage raises to combat inflation, defined benefit pensions, healthcare benefits for retirees, the abolition of benefits and wage tiers among additional demands.
“UAW President Shawn Fain announced today that the union’s strike authorization vote passed with near universal approval from the 150,000 union workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis,” the union declared in a press release. “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.”
This vote is part of a negotiations process with the Big Three with regards to the union workers’ contracts, which expired on September 14. The projected economic loss that could take place over the course of 10 days of a total strike was estimated to be approximately $5.6 billion, with union workers losing a total of $859 million in wages.
“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,” Fain declared in the press release. “The Big Three have been breaking the bank while we have been breaking our backs.”
The authorization consisted of three separate votes for each auto giant, with Ford (98%), General Motors being (96%), and Stellantis (95%) voting to support a strike authorization. Unions once had a place in the American economy, when workers had to put up with harsh labor standards and poor pay.
These organizations were designed to check corporate power. However, they’ve become rent-seeking institutions that serve as shock troops for the Left and do nothing to improve the country’s economic situation.
At the end of the day, their power must be limited.
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