If you are wondering why Shawn Fain has been quiet for the past five minutes, work with us here, and do not assume he has stopped agitating. He remains everywhere, and the United Auto Workers have been rubbing their fingerprints all over several industries, including higher ed:
Higher Ed: At Cornell University, dining and custodial workers ratified a contract with 21-25% raises following a 15-day strike. Around 3,500 Boston University (BU) grad school workers have been on strike for over five months with this walkout, now the longest grad worker strike in history, stretching past the start of fall classes. The union wants BU to raise its offer for a $45,000 annual salary to at least $60,000.
Hospitality: The UAW is threatening to withdraw from the AFL-CIO in New Jersey over accusations that the labor federation hasn’t stood up for Atlantic City workers who want to ban smoking in nine casinos. Those companies have countered that banning smoking will drive core customers away, leading to job losses.
Transportation: 300 Monogram workers who produce Boeing and Airbus parts went on strike in Los Angeles with the union asking for company-paid healthcare and dental premiums. In Jackson, Michigan, 500 Eaton workers are also walking picket lines.
Since the UAW does still represent auto workers (imagine that), let’s recap their latest auto industry efforts beyond recent EV shenanigans:
Stellantis workers are finding out that the Big Three negotiations were not the big win that the union claimed while the company is now grappling with a 48% drop in annual profits due to two main factors: (1) Sales are flagging due to less consumer demand and higher interest rates/inflation; (2) A year-old UAW contract that raised wages 25% is contributing to layoffs and cutbacks because companies must balance the books.
Stellantis is now laying off 2000+ workers by cutting the second shift at the Warren Truck assembly plant in Michigan. The company will also let go of 200 seasonal workers at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. Elsewhere, plummeting worker morale has hit the Toledo Assembly Complex after higher hourly wages led to fewer work hours and less overall pay.
Amid Stellantis’ attempt to stay sustainable despite drastically higher labor costs, Fain blames the company’s “mismanagement” for the downswing in profits. The union also filed ULP charges against Stellantis for allegedly violating contract terms. Fain complained that the idled Belvidere Assembly Plant hadn’t been reopened a year after the Big Three deals. A Stellantis response emphasized that “investments and timelines are not absolute guarantees, as Fain has wrongly and repeatedly characterized, but contingent upon numerous factors, including market conditions.”
Fain still insists that “Stellantis is rolling in the dough,” and he is asking workers to authorize a coordinated national strike, which would be an unusual move outside of contract negotiations.
Ford’s River Rouge Complex averted a strike by 500 UAW members who work in the tool and die unit.
A federal judge has ordered electric carmaker Lucid to rehire two Arizona workers who were allegedly fired for organizing.
Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant is now entering the contract bargaining phase for its first collective bargaining agreement after the UAW’s first victory in its quest to unionize the South. These will be negotiations to watch.
