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The UAW strike brought back militancy and won what seemed “impossible” (www.motherjones.com)

submitted 1 year ago by jeffw@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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Highlights: The United Auto Workers’ 46-day strike was meant to be a historic return, a path forward by embracing the union’s militant roots.

The name alone made that clear: UAW leaders called it “The Stand Up Strike,” a reference to the historic 1936 sit-down strike at a General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, that helped create the modern labor movement. The goals were similarly bold this time.

For the first time in UAW history, the union was led by a president directly elected by members.

[UAW President] Fain used the rhetoric of class war more fluently and to greater effect than almost any public figure in recent memory. In August, a month before launching the strike, Fain threw a contract proposal from Stellantis, formerly Chrysler, into the trash. He wore a t-shirt that declared “Eat the Rich” and vowed to “wreck” the economy of the “billionaire class.”

Fain used an approach that flipped the normal order of things, allowing the union to play the part of the companies’ disciplinarian. For the first time, the union struck all of the Big Three automakers at once. Workers did not all walk out on the same day. Instead, the union adopted the “stand up” strategy under which the strike gradually expanded in response to what was happening at the bargaining table. If Stellantis behaved well, Fain would announce that the company was being spared. If it was recalcitrant, one of its most profitable plants would be taken offline. By the end, about 46,000 of the 146,000 UAW members at the Big Three were on strike.

In another break from tradition, Fain used livestreams to tell members in real time just how much progress was being made in the negotiations.

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[-] gatelike@feddit.de 56 points 1 year ago

“This contract is about more than just economic gains for autoworkers,” Fain said in a speech on Sunday designed to explain the agreement with Ford. “It’s a turning point in the class war that’s been raging in this country for the past 40 years."

[-] jrbaconcheese@yall.theatl.social 29 points 1 year ago

Yea I like this guy.

[-] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago

I like the part about the contract next expiring right before May day 2028, and them inviting other unions to adapt the same schedule.

[-] Zoboomafoo@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That could be huge, I hope they follow suit

[-] MySNsucks923@lemmy.zip 29 points 1 year ago

As someone who works for a union, seeing all the unions working for better benefits for its workers happening big over the last few years…. I’m looking forward to our next contract negotiations.

[-] Deconceptualist@lemm.ee 15 points 1 year ago

Can we not call it "militancy"? Using that word here dilutes the meaning for actual violent regimes. There are plenty of other options like staunch, regimented, steadfast, etc.

[-] Furball@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, when I heard the word militancy I thought that the Union had been taking up arms or something

this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2023

227 points (99.1% liked)

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