{"id":28724,"date":"2023-09-23T13:58:47","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T20:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=28724"},"modified":"2023-09-23T13:58:49","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T20:58:49","slug":"no-justice-no-jeeps-scenes-from-the-auto-workers-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/23\/no-justice-no-jeeps-scenes-from-the-auto-workers-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018NO JUSTICE, NO JEEPS!\u2019 SCENES FROM THE AUTO WORKERS STRIKE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/therealnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1668661483-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"A UAW worker in a red shirt holds up a picket sign with both arms outstretched and a joyous expression on his face. Around him are other red-shirted UAW workers.\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>POSTED IN<a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/category\/sections\/economy-and-inequality\">ECONOMY AND INEQUALITY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UAW workers are striking all three of the Big 3 auto makers at plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BY\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/keith-brower-brown\">KEITH BROWER BROWN<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/luis-feliz-leon\">LUIS FELIZ LEON<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0AND\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/jane-slaughter\">JANE SLAUGHTER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 (therealnews.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union march through the streets of downtown Detroit following a rally on the first day of the UAW strike in Detroit, Michigan, on September 15, 2023. Photo by MATTHEW HATCHER\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/therealnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Labor-Notes-Masthead-Logo-3.jpg?resize=780%2C158&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Labor Notes logo\" class=\"wp-image-276698\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This story originally appeared in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/labornotes.org\/2023\/09\/no-justice-no-jeeps-scenes-auto-workers-strike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Labor Notes<\/a>&nbsp;on Sept. 15, 2023. It is shared here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The strike is on. Last night the Auto Workers (UAW) shut down three major assembly plants at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler). It\u2019s the first time in history the union has struck all three companies at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New UAW leaders kept a tight lid on plans for which plants to strike, counting on members to be more prepared to quickly swing into action than management. The strategy, so far, seems like a success, with widespread reports of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/inthesetimes.com\/article\/stellantis-uaw-surprise-stand-up-strike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">managers caught by surprise<\/a>, after making costly materials moves for strike prep at the wrong plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At each striking plant, auto workers have organized strong, jubilant pickets on barely an hour\u2019s notice. Here are dispatches from Labor Notes reporters on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-missouri-on-the-march\">MISSOURI ON THE MARCH<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At 10:30 p.m. Central Time, Kim Forschim got off her eight-hour shift assembling front fascia on Chevy Colorado trucks at GM\u2019s Wentzville Assembly Center near St. Louis. Strike news had spread like wildfire on the floor. Managers, scared of sabotage, locked the bathroom doors minutes before the strike began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a hundred others, Forschim headed to the UAW Local 2250 hall to volunteer for the first picket shift. Working five years as a temp, starting in 2017, motivated her to stand and fight for higher pay and ending tiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Join thousands of others who rely on our journalism to navigate complex issues, uncover hidden truths, and challenge the status quo with our free newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox twice a week<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">night shift is leaving the plant at GM Wentzville, with jubilant honks, the UAW strike has begun!! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WHQ7Ms1HQa\">pic.twitter.com\/WHQ7Ms1HQa<\/a><\/p>&mdash; keith bb (@TRAILSANDWAYS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TRAILSANDWAYS\/status\/1702534463354191994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 15, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat really gets me is how the news talks like we get $60 or $70 an hour,\u201d Forschim said on the line. \u201cNone of us make that! We get $32 an hour if we\u2019re lucky. New temps get $16 an hour and no raises, no vacation, no sick days. It\u2019s hard to live like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the strike clock struck at 11 p.m. Central, teams of 15 leapt out of vans to picket every gate of the plant. Workers on night shift walked off the job and drove out of the parking lots in a 40-minute-long procession, honking and shouting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forschim said the new reform leadership of the UAW was \u201cdoing an excellent job. They\u2019ve communicated with us so much more. They\u2019re not selling us on less. The old leaders, they kept it all close to their chest, because they were looking out for themselves, not the membership. That\u2019s probably why they\u2019re in jail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">HARD CORE, OLD SCHOOL<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Wentzville, Missouri, local has proudly held onto a culture of \u201chardcore, old-school unionism,\u201d as one older worker put it. In the 1980s, alongside other plants across Missouri, members here were a driving force for the New Directions reform caucus, which pushed for a democratic union and shop floor actions against concessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The local has successfully stood up to outsourcing of parts-handling jobs to non-union or lower-tier workers. With coordinated refusals,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.labornotes.org\/2015\/05\/how-wentzville-41-defied-gm-and-saved-seniority\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">workers held onto the right to do one job<\/a>, instead of being forced to rotate among three. Job rotation and outsourcing have become widespread concessions at many GM plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tommy Spraggins has 38 years in as a production worker at Wentzville. He cheerfully told others on the picket line Friday morning how he planned \u201ca vote no if the raise right off the bat is only 10 percent. That\u2019s just $3 an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe GM CEO, she got 36 percent in raises since our last contract, making $26 million,\u201d Spraggins said. \u201cLike Fain said, they\u2019re price-gouging the American public for billions of profits. They don\u2019t earn that, sitting around eating bonbons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/labornotes.org\/content\/special-coverage-auto-workers-vs-big-3\"><\/a>\u201cAnd they don\u2019t get our swollen knees!\u201d chimed in Krissy Spencer, who has assembled trim and van bodies at the plant for 12 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Job security is a hot topic at Wentzville. GM has said it will remove its profitable full-size van from the plant by 2026. Workers on the line discussed rumors that a current body-shop expansion would bring in an electric version of that van.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ron Rottger, who has 38 years in, said the plant would welcome electric vehicle (EV) work, but not without concerns. \u201cFor Stellantis, EVs have been an excuse to close a lot of plants, like Belvidere. There might not be as many jobs like ours. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve got to organize the battery plants, like Ultium did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The threat of moving factory jobs to Mexico came up, but so did solidarity with Mexican workers. When a GMC Terrain SUV drove by the morning picket, one worker noted that it\u2019s built in Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jennifer Ryan, with eight years at the plant, jumped in to say, \u201cDid you see that video the Mexican workers made supporting us? They\u2019ve got a new union and it\u2019s awesome.\u201d The other worker, who had pointed out the Terrain, agreed with gusto. Ryan said, \u201cThey sometimes make just $40 a week down there, working like we do. That\u2019s gotta change too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the day shift warmed up, workers shared stories of their 40-day strike in 2019, and resolved to keep it up as long as necessary this time. A UPS truck drove by honking in support. Spraggins said, \u201cTo win back pensions and health care [for retirees], this is how we do it, right here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FORD MICHIGAN ASSEMBLY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Workers at Ford\u2019s Bronco and Ranger plant west of Detroit were stunned when they heard the news at 10 p.m. Thursday. \u201cPeople are awestruck because we\u2019re really striking,\u201d said Lee Maybanks, eyes wide. \u201cI\u2019ve never been through anything like this before.\u201d Ford has seen no strike at any of its plants since 1978.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Management sent workers home at 11, not waiting for the midnight strike deadline. After midnight, pickets quickly fanned out to cover the plant\u2019s many gates, while others massed across the street, joined by chanting supporters and a few workers from other plants. Horn-honking was incessant from heavy traffic on Michigan Avenue. Occasionally the cry rang out \u201cNo Deals, No Wheels!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The arrival of UAW President Shawn Fain occasioned a media scrum\u2014the man could barely carry out his intention to walk the line. \u201cIt\u2019s Beatlemania over here,\u201d said one UAW staffer. Fain tried to encourage reporters to listen to rank-and-file members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">DAY 1.<br>STAND UP.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/StandUpUAW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#StandUpUAW<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yU6fumoMfa\">pic.twitter.com\/yU6fumoMfa<\/a><\/p>&mdash; UAW (@UAW) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UAW\/status\/1702765437698576586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 15, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybanks\u2019s grandfather worked at the plant. He said that, with less than two years in, his issue is proper pay, because inflation is high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Millwright Dave Briseno is at the top of the pay scale, with a skilled job and 24 years in, but he still thinks pensions for the second-tier workers are a top issue. \u201cA pension is a big deal,\u201d Briseno said. \u201cIn the past people came here for a career. The new guys don\u2019t see it that way: \u2018I can get a job at Walmart.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt took the last two contracts to get these guys up to where they are now, and there\u2019s still tiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like most auto workers, Briseno remembers the sacrifices workers made when the companies demanded concessions during the Great Recession. \u201cWe worked with them,\u201d he said. \u201cNow they don\u2019t want to work with us. We are less than 7 percent of the cost of a vehicle. The $21 million [Ford CEO] Jim Farley gets\u2014they don\u2019t need that much money. It\u2019s \u2018Let\u2019s screw the little guy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Briseno was not expecting the union to achieve all its ambitious demands: \u201cI don\u2019t expect a 32-hour work week,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a Europe thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A first-tier worker who didn\u2019t give her full name hoped the strike will get rid of tiers, \u201cso people aren\u2019t waiting six years, eight years,\u201d she said. \u201cI topped out after three years. The legacy [first-tier] workers never wanted this for them [subsequent hires].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">STELLANTIS IN OHIO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile in Ohio, Toledo Assembly Complex workers from the first shift gathered outside the plant\u2019s Gate 12, under giant letters spelling \u201cWorld Class Manufacturing.\u201d Workers clapped and yelled in jubilation as more and more of their co-workers passed through the turnstiles. At one point they started chanting \u201cNo More Tiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Workers posed for photos to mark the occasion. One Black worker who gave his name only as Danny was dressed up in a spiffy all-red outfit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Danny was off today. But he came to greet second shift workers at the Toledo Assembly plant dressed to the nines because he wanted to be spiffy for the historic <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/StandUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#StandUp<\/a> strike. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KjIWt3QNHi\">pic.twitter.com\/KjIWt3QNHi<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Luis Feliz Leon (@Lfelizleon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Lfelizleon\/status\/1702537452580159845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 15, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are making history today, baby,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m representing my people. And I\u2019m letting you know\u2014this is how we coming, and we are fighting for what\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Top of his list are equal wages and benefits for all workers. \u201cThe economy is messed up,\u201d Danny said. \u201cI know people who are fighting just to feed their families, pay their rent. I know women who are trying to figure out if they\u2019re gonna pay rent first or childcare. They\u2019re not getting paid equally. I know temporary workers who have been here for six years, and they\u2019re not permanent employees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yesterday, Lauren McCallum said, a supervisor had walked up to her and another union worker to say, \u201cYou guys don\u2019t deserve 47 percent. You don\u2019t work hard enough to get that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c\u2018I don\u2019t even want the 47 percent,\u2019\u201d she retorted. \u201c\u2018I would like a pension.\u2019 And he said, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re not getting that. Those times are long gone.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd I didn\u2019t even get upset,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like, take our demands serious. We sacrifice from high to low. Maybe even if we don\u2019t get it all right now, we\u2019ve got to get something to show that the wheel is moving in the direction that we need it to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe time is now. Do right by the people who do right by you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Gate 14, emblazoned with the name of Stellantis\u2019 predecessor Chrysler, workers\u2019 shadows were thrown into relief against the silvery nameplate as workers gathered around the burn barrel chanting: \u201cNo Justice, No Jeeps!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Workers at this plant make the Jeep Wrangler, Wrangler 4XE, and Jeep Gladiator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around 2 a.m., workers huddled around a burn barrel. The night was getting chilly, but the honks from passing vehicles lifted the mood; fists and picket signs were thrust high in the air. At one point a worker who had transferred from the recently closed Belvidere plant in Illinois was throwing paper in the burn barrel. Asked what it was, she joked it was the expired contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I love my class! \u201cWhat are you burning ? The old contract!\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/giJzsJVQi4\">pic.twitter.com\/giJzsJVQi4<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Luis Feliz Leon (@Lfelizleon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Lfelizleon\/status\/1702547461028385256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 15, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sysco Garza, a mechanic, suggested a solidarity convoy to draw media attention to the strike. \u201cEverybody that owns a Jeep should drive around this whole complex,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been on this downhill drive since roughly the 1970s,\u201d said Korbin Friend, a member of the reform caucus Unite All Workers for Democracy, which campaigned for members\u2019 right to directly elect top officers and then backed Fain and the rest of the reform slate. He is another transfer from the shuttered Belvidere plant, and now a picket captain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He recalls what a Belvidere co-worker shared with him about the devastating impacts of plant closures. \u201cImagine if everyone you worked with all of a sudden either gained 50 pounds or killed themselves,\u201d Friend remembers the 25-year veteran saying. \u201cThat\u2019s what happens in these communities when these companies choose numbers in a spreadsheet over the American workers that build the vehicles.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/keith-brower-brown\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/keith-brower-brown\">KEITH BROWER BROWN<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Keith Brower Brown is Labor Notes&#8217; Labor-Climate Organizer.<a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/keith-brower-brown\">More by Keith Brower Brown<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/luis-feliz-leon\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/luis-feliz-leon\">LUIS FELIZ LEON<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Luis Feliz Leon is a staff writer and organizer with Labor Notes. Follow him on Twitter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lfelizleon?lang=en\">@Lfelizleon<\/a>.<a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/luis-feliz-leon\">More by Luis Feliz Leon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/jane-slaughter\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/jane-slaughter\">JANE SLAUGHTER<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Jane Slaughter is a former editor of Labor Notes and co-author of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/labornotes.org\/secrets\">Secrets of a Successful Organizer<\/a>.<a href=\"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/author\/jane-slaughter\">More by Jane Slaughter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>POSTED INECONOMY AND INEQUALITY UAW workers are striking all three of the Big 3 auto makers at plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri. BY\u00a0KEITH BROWER BROWN,\u00a0LUIS FELIZ LEON\u00a0AND\u00a0JANE SLAUGHTER SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 (therealnews.com) Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union march through the streets of downtown Detroit following a&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/23\/no-justice-no-jeeps-scenes-from-the-auto-workers-strike\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1124],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28724"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28724"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28725,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28724\/revisions\/28725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}