Posts tagged Michigan
GM lays off more than 1,000 workers, adds 50 robots at flagship Detroit plant: ‘We’re disgusted’
June 24, 2026 // The automaker insists the cobots are not replacements to human workers and are actually necessary at the Detroit-Hamtramck electric-truck plant to stay competitive while improving “safety and ergonomics” for the workers, according to Crain’s Detroit Business and a company spokesman.
GM lawsuit could fuel debate over calls for worker seats on corporate boards
June 23, 2026 // General Motors filed its lawsuit against Chrysler in 2019, after the U.S. Department of Justice successfully prosecuted executives, employees, and union officials at Chrysler for financial and collective bargaining corruption. At the center of the suit is Iacobelli’s role as a labor relations executive responsible for union negotiations and labor-management programs. The lawsuit claims that the union used Iacobelli’s position at GM to obtain confidential information and create bargaining contracts at Chrysler that gave it a competitive advantage over GM.
Shawn Fain seeks reelection as UAW convention tackles major policy issues
June 15, 2026 // Key issues include: Increasing strike pay from $500 to $625 per week. Potentially reducing union dues from 2.5 hours of pay to 2 hours. Determining how aggressively to fund future organizing campaigns. Clarifying membership and retiree eligibility rules. Protecting the union’s direct election system. The convention comes as the UAW navigates the aftermath of a corruption scandal that sent two former presidents to prison and placed the union under federal oversight. Notably, court-appointed monitor Neil Barofsky has criticized Fain and other senior leaders over transparency and internal governance concerns, with another report expected soon.
UAW Reaches Tentative Deal to End Strike at Supplier to GM Trucks
June 11, 2026 // The UAW workers were pushing for wages closer to the $29 an hour they used to earn in 2008 before agreeing to a 50% wage reduction to keep the plant open during the economic recession. The plant’s top wage rate for regular production workers is about $22 an hour.
‘Now we have the war’ | Nearly 1,000 UAW workers remain on strike in Three Rivers
June 3, 2026 // “The company wanted a fight, and now we have the war,” UAW 2093 Bargaining Chairman Josh Jager told 13 ON YOUR SIDE Tuesday. Workers walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Monday, launching round-the-clock picketing outside the facility that manufactures axles and driveline components used in major automaker supply chains. By Tuesday afternoon, union members were still stationed at entrances across the sprawling plant. “We're manning up picket sites 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Jager said. “They're out there holding that line. They're not going anywhere.”
UAW goes on strike at key General Motors truck supplier plant
June 1, 2026 // Nearly 1,000 workers at a Michigan automotive supplier went on strike, stalling the production of key parts for General Motors’ midsize and full-size pickup trucks. Workers at the American Axle plant in Three Rivers, Mich., are at an impasse with the company over a new labor contract. Workers say their pay hasn’t recovered from 2008, when they agreed to slash wages in half to keep the plant running during dire economic times, despite high profit at American Axle in recent years on the strength of GM’s truck sales.
Union demands answers as Sparrow Lansing outsources 379 jobs
May 29, 2026 // Union members at the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow’s Lansing location are demanding answers after they say the hospital has decided to “outsource” jobs in support and nutrition services. UAW Local 4911 President Kim Wheeler says 379 employees in the Food and Nutritional Services and Support Operations Services, also referred to as Environmental Services, have been affected by the move.
How United Auto Workers grew from small Detroit union into national force
May 27, 2026 // "Prior to the sit-down strike at GM, they had 75 members," Marchioni said. The strike lasted 44 days and ended with General Motors recognizing the UAW. Afterward, union membership surged. "Two weeks later, they had 2,000 members and a year later, they had 75,000 members," Marchioni said.
UAW forum generates heated exchanges between gubernatorial opponents
May 19, 2026 // Two of the top candidates to be Michigan's next governor, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, repeatedly clashed Monday night over how they've raised money to support their political ambitions. The exchanges, which might preview the race ahead this fall, played out at a forum organized by the United Auto Workers inside a union hall in Dearborn. About 150 people were in the crowd for the event that featured Duggan, a former Democratic prosecutor and current independent candidate for Michigan's top office, and two Democratic contenders, Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.
Commentary: Josh Hawley’s Pro-Union Bill Would Let Washington Write Your Contract
May 16, 2026 // A Hawley-backed bill, known as the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA), seems to be picking up steam and may soon pass the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, the FLCA is a trifecta of bad public policy: It suffers from constitutional infirmities, revives a corrupt government agency, and takes away the voice of both businesses and workers. Earlier this Congress, Hawley introduced the FLCA in the Senate, alongside one other Republican senator and three Democratic senators; he has since picked up another Republican and 10 more Democrats. Companion legislation in the House has 99 cosponsors, 17 of which are Republican.