"We're going to win:" UAW president announces strike vote results
(CBS DETROIT) –The results are in, and 97% of workers at Stellantis, General Motors, and Ford are ready to walk off the job if a contract agreement isn't reached next month.
United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain announced the results in a Facebook Live Friday morning in which he said a better quality of life for workers will only happen if they fight for it, and they need to keep applying pressure.
"Our employers only value one thing, profit; they do not value us. And the only way the working class advances is if we stand together," Fain said.
This is why 97% of the 146,000 UAW members at the three automakers are willing to go on strike if a new contract isn't reached by Sept. 14.
"Are we working together when our wages have regressed over the last 10 years? Inflation has been hammering us. We see it in the price of bread, in the cost of milk," Fain said.
The union is asking for a 40% pay increase, pensions for new hires, and other benefits.
"Employers don't give higher wages or better benefits out of the kindness of their hearts. They give up because the union bargains for it, and we make them," Fain said.
Organizations like "Detroit Action" stand in solidary with the UAW's efforts
"It's a really important time to be able to close the gap that Black workers and workers overall are feeling and experiencing when it comes to jobs when it comes to economic justice. And it's a really important time to be able to stand up for workers and for and in demanding, you know, fair treatment and fair wages," said Branden Snyder, executive director of Detroit Action.
In response to the results, GM released an almost two-minute video in which it says if the contract expires, both sides can agree to extend the current contract to allow more time for negotiations.
But Fain has indicated that won't likely happen.
"Ninety-seven percent of you voted to authorize a strike because you know that we do have the power, that we are united, and we're not afraid, and we're going to win," Fain said.
The UAW is asking the three automakers to have their counterproposals in by next week.
