The hot labor summer isn't over yet.
In a week's time, the United Auto Workers may launch a strike of 150,000 of its members if the Big Three automakers – Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) – fail to meet the workers' demands in a new contract by September 14.
You see, the Big Three made a quarter-trillion dollars in profits over the past decade. And with non-union electric vehicle and battery manufacturing on the rise in the United States, this may be a make-or-break moment for the union. So, with a more militant leadership at its helm, the UAW is demanding more than they have in a long time: serious wage increases; the elimination of tiers; the return of pensions, COLA, and retiree healthcare; and a 32-hour workweek.
For this episode, we unpack the auto workers' demands, their stakes for the auto industry and the broader working class, and the burgeoning EV transition. We also explore how during this round of negotiations, the union is doing something it hasn't done in a very long time. Inspired by the Teamsters, the UAW is conducting a contract campaign, with rallies, practice pickets, and all.
To discuss all this and more, we spoke with two UAW activists in Metro Detroit. Luigi Gjokaj was an assembly worker at Stellantis since 2010 and is the newly elected vice president of UAW Local 51. Jessie Kelly is a skilled moldmaker at General Motors and alternate committeeperson at UAW Local 160.
You'll also hear from auto workers in Metro Detroit and Chicago, who attended rallies and practice pickets to drum up unity before the strike deadline.
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Hosted by Teddy Ostrow
Edited by Teddy Ostrow and Ruby Walsh
Produced by NYGP & Ruby Walsh, in partnership with In These Times & The Real News
Music by Casey Gallagher
Cover art by Devlin Claro Resetar
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UNLOCKED: Teamsters Pride!: The LGBTQ+ Caucus
UNLOCKED: Reforming the UFCW
UNLOCKED: Hollywood Writers Strike!
UNLOCKED: Air Workers & Article 40 – a "Stain" On the Contract
UNLOCKED: Retaliation at UPS
Episode 17: The Big 3 Have Fallen
Episode 16: UAW Strike Update
Episode 15: On the UAW Picket Lines
Episode 13: UPS Contract Ratified. What's Next?
Episode 12: Teamsters Organizing Delivers the Goods at UPS
Livestream: UPS Tentative Agreement Reached. Is a Strike Still Possible?
Episode 11: UPS Negotiations Resume. One Week Till Deadline.
BONUS: Renewed Militancy at the United Auto Workers
Episode 10: UPS Strike Imminent? / The Gig is Up!
Episode 9: UPS Strike, Authorized / The Threads of Labor Militancy
Episode 8: The Teamsters Take Amazon
BONUS: Resisting the UPS Patriarchy
Episode 7: UPS and the Logistics Revolution
Episode 6: Let the Negotiations Begin!
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