Posts tagged General Motors
OPINION Why don’t unions have to stand for reelection?
September 16, 2024 // The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 7.4 million workers in the private sector belonged to labor unions in 2023. Yet according to a new study from the Institute for the American Worker, which promotes market-oriented labor reform, fewer than 400,000 of those unionized employees — about 5 percent — have ever voted in an election for the union that represents them. Like me, the vast majority of employees in unionized workplaces were hired after the union had already been voted in. Most unions have never been required to confirm that they have the support of current workers by winning a recertification election. In some workplaces, a lifetime has elapsed — that isn’t hyperbole — since the union was first certified. The United Auto Workers organized General Motors’ Michigan plants in 1937 and has represented the employees who work there ever since. Never once has it had to stand for reelection. What kind of “workplace democracy” is that?
Union autoworkers won big after striking. A year later, some face an uncertain future
September 15, 2024 // Now, workers are wondering how committed the trans-Atlantic automaker is to remain in the U.S. at all. For years, Cooper says, old-timers at his plant in Toledo have warned that if wages rose too much, the company would move jobs to Mexico. It's a threat he's always shrugged off, given how profitable the Jeep plant has been for Stellantis.
Half a century later, ILA returns to strike mode
September 13, 2024 // The ILA is one of the least aggressive unions when it comes to coastwide strikes, especially relative to its militant West Coast counterpart: the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which orchestrated stoppages and slowdowns just last year to attain its desired contract. In many respects, then, the ILA is riding the wave of labor’s recent successes that were achieved through hard-line tactics. In August 2023, the Teamsters celebrated the ratification of a new agreement with UPS. A few months later, the United Auto Workers secured large pay raises and other benefits for its members after a 46-day strike against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors.
UAW’s rift with Stellantis raises fear that some US auto jobs could vanish
September 12, 2024 // U.S. autoworkers warn that a dispute between their union and Stellantis over delays in reopening a shuttered factory in Belvidere, Illinois, is much bigger than that one plant.
The Union Members Who Never Voted for Their Union
September 10, 2024 // Reform federal labor law to require a secret-ballot election for unionization, as the Employee Rights Act would do. A 2022 survey showed that 70 percent of Americans — and 76 percent of union households — support this concept. At present, unions can succeed without support from a majority of its workforce when only a tiny portion of eligible employees vote in the election. For example, the NLRB is considering certifying an election in California in which just three employees out of 24 voted to unionize. A fourth voted against the union, and the rest did not vote. Federal labor law should require a quorum — such as two-thirds of all eligible voters — in order for an election result to be upheld. Such a requirement is popular: Eighty-four percent of Americans support this idea.
Workers at GM battery plant agree to unionize
September 6, 2024 // The unionization majority at Ultium Cells — a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution. It was the first time workers at an automaker other than the Big Three had unionized in the South. Earlier this year, 30% of workers at a Toyota factory in Missouri said they had signed union authorization cards. It was the fourth non-union plant to join a growing movement of autoworkers who are attempting to replicate the record contracts the UAW won from the Big Three Detroit automakers last year, including 25% wage bumps.
Texas sees surge in union membership, defying state’s anti-union history
August 14, 2024 // In total, there are about 586,000 union workers in Texas, a fraction of the millions who work here. And yet, the increase is somewhat remarkable given the state's long history of hostility toward unions. And nationwide, union membership dipped during the same time. Texas is one of 26 so-called right-to-work states. Texas lawmakers first passed that law in 1993. The law allows for workers the option to not pay unions due and the right to work in a unionized workplace without being a part of the union itself. And more recently, the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law aimed at stopping local governments from enacting progressive-leaning worker protections and other policies.
UAW chief: Trump has ‘never supported working class people’
August 6, 2024 // She walked the picket line with General Motors striking workers in 2019 and was there with Biden “though a lot of things we’ve been through,” he said. “She’s been there for labor,” he said, later adding, “I think she’s a brilliant woman. A very strong person.” Harris, Fain argued, understands the issues.
Opinion: Union Victories First, Job Losses Later
August 6, 2024 // But the UAW conveniently ignores its contribution to the job losses. The union halted work for a month at Deere in 2021, and the company acquiesced to a blockbuster contract. Employees received a 20% raise over five years, plus an $8,500 bonus and annual adjustments for cost of living. The strike paid off for union workers in the short term, but the increase in labor costs made layoffs more likely if harder times struck. You won’t hear about this latest turn from President Biden, who sent his agriculture secretary to the picket line to cheer on strikers in 2021. Mr. Biden calls himself the most pro-union President in history, and he happily claims credit for union wins.
Autoworkers at Lear Seating Plant in Wentzville strike for safer working conditions
July 25, 2024 // The strike put 4,000 people out of work at the Wentzville GM plant on Monday because they had to stop production due to a shortage of parts. Wentzville's GM plant is also part of the UAW, but their members are with local 2250. Hugebeck said 2250 has been very supportive.