Tag: auto workers

To G.M. Workers, U.A.W. Strike Is Chance for Overdue Reward

New York Times logoDETROIT — A decade ago, when General Motors was on the brink of collapse and was ushered into bankruptcy by the federal government, the company’s unionized workers bore a significant portion of the pain to bring the automaker back to financial health.

The United Auto Workers agreed to allow General Motors to hire substantial numbers of new workers at roughly half the hourly wage of those already on the payroll and with reduced retirement benefits. In the following years, G.M. was also able to bring in temporary workers with even slimmer wage-and-benefit packages and little job security.

The bitter medicine helped reinvigorate the automaker, and for the last several years it has been reaping record profits. Along the way, it has pared its United States payrolls, closed several plants and moved more work to Mexico.

View the complete September 16 article by Neal E. Boudette on The New York Times website here.

Trump Broke His Promises To 1,300 More Autoworkers

Trump promised voters in Warren, Michigan that they wouldn’t lose their manufacturing plants if he was elected and that General Motors would create new jobs in the United States because of him. Today, General Motors confirmed it plans to lay off over 1,000 workers at their Warren, Michigan facility.

THEN: Trump promised voters in Warren, Michigan they “won’t lose one plant” if he was elected, and said that GM would expand jobs in the U.S. because of him.

Trump in Warren, Michigan: “If I’m elected, you won’t lose one plant, you’ll have plants coming into this country, you’re going to have jobs again, you won’t lose one plant, I promise you that.”

Trump: “Just today—breaking news—General Motors announced that they’re adding or keeping 900 jobs right here in Michigan, and that’s going to be over the next 12 months. And that’s just the beginning, folks. […] We’re going to have a lot more. They’re going to be building new plants, expanding their plants.”

Trump: “You see what’s going on with the car companies. You ought to call Ford. Call Mr. Fields, the head of Ford. Call Mary Barra, head of General Motors. You could call Fiat. You know, you could call Fiat. You could call — we had that meeting. They’re all talking about building in the United States because of me.”

NOW: General Motors is cutting over 4,000 jobs, including nearly 1,300  jobs at their Warren, Michigan plant alone — the most of any facility.

Detroit News: “General Motors Co.’s salaried job cuts will include the elimination of 1,298 jobs at the Warren Technical Center, according to a filing with the state of Michigan. With those jobs eliminated, the Tech Center will see the most cuts of any GM facility as the company continues a weeks-long process of cutting more than 4,000 salaried jobs.”

GM WORKERS SPEAK OUT: ‘I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen’

Trump’s broken promises have devastated autoworkers and their communities in the wake of the latest announcement of layoffs and plant closures from General Motors. As one autoworker said, “I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen.”

Here are real stories of autoworkers and communities hurt by Trump’s broken promises:

“You are going right into Christmas, you are looking for celebration, and that’s not there now. So what do you do? Do you still continue to buy gifts?” – UAW member

“I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen.” – GM Lordstown worker

“This is devastating…Without GM, this area would be a ghost town.” – Previously laid off GM worker

Continue reading “GM WORKERS SPEAK OUT: ‘I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen’”