The UAW May Be The Next Union To Threaten A Strike

On September 14, the United Auto Workers’ contract with the Big Three automakers will expire. When it does, members may very well go on strike to win their ambitious demands, including abolishing tiers and establishing the right to strike over plant closures.

by Dan DiMaggio and Keith Brower Brown, Jacobin

The clock is ticking toward September 14 at midnight, when the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) contracts with the Big Three automakers expire. The new leaders of the UAW have come out swinging, and in quickly growing numbers, members are stepping up to prepare for a strike.

The agreements cover close to 150,000 workers at Ford, General Motors (GM), and Stellantis.

People holding signs take part in a protest at the University of California Los Angeles campus Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022 in Los Angeles.

In early August UAW president Shawn Fain presented a list of “the Members’ Demands” to the companies, calling them “the most audacious and ambitious list of proposals they’ve seen in decades.” These bargaining goals are aimed at undoing concessions extracted by the companies from previous union administrations since before the Great Recession. A major goal is to ensure that the transition to electric vehicles is not used to further undermine auto workers’ standards.