Dean Kennedy, a 66-year-old Corunna resident who has worked more than 46 years for General Motors as a repair technician at Flint Metal Fabrication, blocks an entrance to the Flint Metal Center, Oct. 17, 2019 in Flint, Mich. United Auto Workers union members who went on strike Saturday at the Stellantis casting plant in Indiana have reached a tentative deal with the company. The UAW Local 1166 bargaining committee confirmed the tentative agreement in a blog post, saying that a ratification vote would be held on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP, file)
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The Big Story
Big Three autoworkers vote to authorize strike
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union dialed up the pressure on the Big Three automakers on Friday, voting overwhelmingly to strike if they cannot reach a “fair deal.”
More than 95 percent of members voted in favor of the move as negotiations heat up just weeks ahead of the mid-September deadline.
Since negotiations picked up last month, the union has been pressing for better pay, pensions and more job security for workers.
“Our members have delivered for these companies over and over, and our members deserve job security as a reward for that,” UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday. “So, we deserve future product at our plants.”
“The Big Three’s race to the bottom ends on September 14,” he also warned.
The union represents about 150,000 workers at the Big Three automakers – Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, formerly known as Chrysler.
President Biden met with Fain last month after union leaders reached out to make their positions known amid negotiations with the automakers.
But in comments Friday, Fain told members that Biden “is not in our contract.”
“Labor cannot be left out of the equation. Labor has to have a seat at the table. The workers can’t be left behind,” he said.
“And it’s up to the Biden administration and our people in Congress to fix those things when it comes to our tax dollars going to those companies with no conditions,” Fain added.
Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter, we’re Aris Folley and Taylor Giorno — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
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