Several sizable strikes dominated headlines this summer, with the United Auto Workers closing out the season by launching their Big Three Stand Up strike. Shawn Fain’s “audacious” demands and his strategic turmoil have now led to expanding the strike at additional GM, Ford, and Stellantis locations. At least 13% of UAW members are currently on strike, with thousands of non-striking workers already furloughed. One analyst fears that this strike could cost Michigan 150,000 lost jobs within four weeks.
In a recent live-streamed address, Fain also blustered about recent non-Big Three happenings, including assorted strikes and key higher-ed developments:
- 1,400 BCBS of Michigan workers entered their second week of striking. Grievances include outsourcing of jobs and a tiered-pay structure.
- 200 ZF Chassis Systems workers hit the picket lines in Tuscaloosa, AL.
- 100 Dometic auto plant workers members went on strike in Philadelphia, PA.
- WestRock packaging workers who supply cardboard have been striking for months in Dayton, NJ.
- Thombert workers who manufacture wheels and tires passed the 50-day mark with their strike in Newton, IA.
- 3,500 Mack truck workers in PA, MA, and FL will see their contract expire in less than a week, and have authorized a strike through a 98% vote.
And in higher education: 2,900 Northeastern grad student workers voted to unionize in Boston with the UAW, which has beefed up higher-ed membership to a reported 100,000 workers. For some perspective, the UAW claims to currently represent 400,000 total active members. Around 150,000 members work for the Big Three, and those members are the ones benefiting from a capped $850 million strike fund.
A curious development: The union has thus far chosen not to move into strike mode for 1,000 Columbia University grad student workers and hundreds of Mount Sinai postdocs, two months after their contract expiration dates and overwhelming authorization votes. Is the UAW simply postponing more strikes, or is there something else at work here?
These members might be wondering why they aren’t receiving tangible benefits from third-party representation. Or if their union can even achieve results through higher-ed strikes.
Earlier this year, a six-week University of California grad student strike ended with what many members called a “sellout deal” of failed promises, including raises that reportedly amounted to a “cut in real wages.” The UAW similarly agreed to a deal for Temple University grad students that only bumped them to $24,000 salaries – less than these workers could make from fast-food jobs. Union leadership seems more interested in investing resources in unsustainable demands for the Big Three than turning their attention to all members.
Shawn Fain, meanwhile, is having a blast with the Big Three strikes. He’s leading a traditionally secular organization with fiery rhetoric full of religious terminology and “the cadence and tone of an old-school preacher.” And he’s covering profane bases, too. Yet all the trashcan speeches in the world don’t guarantee that the UAW won’t ultimately harm their members rather than help them.
Adding to the excitement, the White House announced last Friday that President Joe Biden would join the picket line on Tuesday, creating a nearly unprecedented photo op and support for a labor dispute by any President.
