{"id":28545,"date":"2023-09-16T13:32:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T20:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=28545"},"modified":"2023-09-16T13:32:05","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T20:32:05","slug":"this-is-our-defining-moment-uaw-launches-historic-strikes-against-big-three-automakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/16\/this-is-our-defining-moment-uaw-launches-historic-strikes-against-big-three-automakers\/","title":{"rendered":"‘This Is Our Defining Moment’: UAW Launches Historic Strikes Against Big Three Automakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"United<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

United Auto Workers members picket and hold signs outside of the UAW Local 900 headquarters across the street from the Ford Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan on September 15, 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo: Matthew Hatcher\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The money is there, the cause is righteous, the world is watching, and the UAW is ready to stand up,” said Shawn Fain, the union’s president.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JAKE JOHNSON<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sep 15, 2023 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United Auto Workers union kicked off historic strikes against the Big Three U.S. car manufacturers early Friday morning after the companies failed to meet workers’ demands for adequate pay increases and benefit improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initial wave of strikes hit select Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis facilities, with the union deploying a tactic it has described as a ” stand-up strike<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UAW members at General Motors’ Wentzville Assembly in Missouri, Ford’s Michigan Assembly, and Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly in Ohio were the first to walk off the job on Friday, and additional locals will be called on to strike in the coming days as negotiations continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who remain on the job will be working under an expired collective bargaining agreement, though they still have status quo protections<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The labor actions mark the first time the UAW has ever gone on strike against all three major automakers simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’ve been working hard, trying to reach a deal for economic and social justice for our members,” UAW president Shawn Fain said in a speech<\/a> late Thursday, just ahead of the midnight strike deadline. “We have been firm. We are committed to winning an agreement with the Big Three that reflects the incredible sacrifice and contributions UAW members have made to these companies.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The money is there, the cause is righteous, the world is watching, and the UAW is ready to stand up,” Fain added. “This is our defining moment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

night shift is leaving the plant at GM Wentzville, with jubilant honks, the UAW strike has begun!! pic.twitter.com\/WHQ7Ms1HQa<\/a><\/p>— keith bb (@TRAILSANDWAYS) September 15, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>