Tennessee Governor Bill Lee joined the governors of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas in issuing a joint statement in opposition of the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) unionization campaign.
The coalition of governors said it is “highly concerned” about the unionization campaign, adding such efforts are “driven by misinformation and scare tactics.”
Read the full story
At an event held Monday at Chattanooga’s office of the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), Gov. Bill Lee (R) said it would be a “big mistake” for Volkswagen employees at a plant there to unionize.
Lee reportedly said:
Read the full story
Like a bad penny, the UAW keeps popping up in Chattanooga, trying to stand in the way of a healthy relationship between workers and Volkswagen (VW). In two consecutive union campaigns, in 2014 and again in 2019, the UAW failed to gain the confidence of workers. Unfortunately, they’re at it again, rushing to scoop up workers at the Volkswagen plant.
Read the full story
After recent wins, the United Auto Workers (UAW) looks poised to take on the non-unionized automakers and, if successful, could disrupt the whole industry.
The UAW recently filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a vote at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which employs around 4,000 autoworkers, as it looks to expand its reach to other automakers. A successful union vote in Chattanooga could be a key stepping stone in the UAW’s effort to break into the currently non-unionized auto plants, especially in the south, which has historically been less receptive to unions, all the while the UAW is being emboldened by labor-friendly regulators from the Biden administration, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Read the full story
Volkswagen employees at a plant in Chattanooga have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a vote on whether workers will join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.
“The milestone marks the first non-union auto plant to file for a union election among the dozens of auto plants where workers have been organizing in recent months,” UAW said in a press release. “The grassroots effort sprang up in the wake of the record victories for Big Three autoworkers in the UAW’s historic Stand Up Strike win.”
Read the full story
Vinnie Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker, said workers’ latest attempts to unionize the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga appear to be “failing.”
On Monday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) announced that a group of Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a vote to join the labor union.
Read the full story
According to a statement from United Auto Workers (UAW), more than half of the employees at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant have voted to unionize.
“A majority of workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant have signed cards to join the UAW, less than sixty days after the workers announced their campaign to form a union at the German automaker’s only US assembly plant,” according to a UAW press release.
Read the full story
Following the resolution of the six-week United Auto Workers strike last month and the ensuing glut of news coverage, one could be forgiven for believing that private sector unions were experiencing a generational comeback the likes of which haven’t been seen since their halcyon days of the 1950s.
The reality, however, couldn’t be further from the truth: union participation in the private sector is now a tiny sliver of the overall employment picture in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unionization rate of private-sector workers currently sits below 6% at just under 7 million workers nationwide – down from 17 million in 1950.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers union members narrowly voted to ratify its contract with General Motors.
GM’s ratification tracker shows workers approving the contract on a 54.7% vote with nearly 36,000 votes in support, an unofficial number. The vote will end one-third of the auto strike that’s lasted about six weeks.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers (UAW) concluded contract negotiations with the Big Three automakers over the last week, creating a deal that raises labor costs when the automakers are already struggling against competitors, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — reached three separate tentative deals starting on Wednesday that ended a six-week-long partial strike at the companies from the UAW after workers’ contracts expired on Sept. 14. Due to the increased labor costs from higher wages and benefits, the Big Three are put at a disadvantage compared to non-unionized workforces both domestically and abroad at a time when the companies try to shift to the production of electric vehicles (EV), according to experts who spoke to the DCNF.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers union and General Motors have reached a tentative agreement to end the auto strike, a report says, marking the possible end of a 45-day historic strike against the Big Three Automakers.
Bloomberg News first reported the deal. The UAW hasn’t publicly released contract details yet.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Saturday expanded its strike against General Motors (GM) after it reached an agreement with its competitors on Wednesday and Saturday, the union confirmed in an X post.
The UAW and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) reached a deal similar to the four-year agreement reached on Wednesday between Ford and the UAW, which provides a 25 percent pay increase and cost of living adjustments, as well as the ability to strike over plant closures. It was expected that GM would also make a deal with the union after Stellantis on Saturday, but instead employees at a Tennessee GM factory received orders to expand the company’s strike, the local union posted on X.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers union and Ford Motor Company have reached a tentative deal to end the ongoing strike, pending approval from union leaders.
The ongoing strike has thus far lasted nearly six weeks. Exact terms of the agreement remain unclear, though the final deal could be announced as early as Wednesday evening, CNBC reported, citing sources familiar with the talks.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers expanded its far-reaching strike on Tuesday to include a General Motors SUV plant in Texas.
About 5,000 workers at the Arlington Assembly Plant, where the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Tahoe and other SUVs are made.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers (UAW) unexpectedly walked off the job Wednesday evening at the largest Ford plant in an escalation of its strike against major automakers.
Around 8,700 UAW members walked off the job at 6:30 p.m. ET at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville yesterday in a previously unannounced move, completely shutting down the plant, according to an announcement from the UAW. The new strike location comes as UAW workers are already striking at 43 other plants at the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — across the U.S. in a strike that started after contract negotiations failed to reach a deal before their Sept. 14 deadline.
Read the full story
by Nick Pope Electric vehicle (EV) production is costing most American automobile manufacturers billions of dollars, with a range of factors driving their unprofitability as unionized auto workers are striking to demand more from management. Companies like Rivian, Ford and General Motors (GM) are currently losing money on each EV that they sell, while Stellantis appears likely to lose money up front on their EVs when they bring them to market in 2024, according to numerous reports. Rivian has struggled immensely, according to The Wall Street Journal, and the “Big Three” carmakers are facing down the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike, with the union making demands that threaten to push costs even higher. The UAW is seeking to exact major concessions, with EVs featuring as a key driver of the labor dispute. Prior to the strike, the average UAW worker in Grass Lake, Michigan, made about $45,000 per year, according to data from ZipRecruiter. The UAW is seeking a 36 percent pay bump over the course of a four-year contract, yearly cost-of-living adjustments, restoration of pre-bailout pension benefits for all of its employees, increased protections to ensure job security, limits on the use of temporary workers and a 32-hour work week, according to CBS…
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers Union rejected a proposed contract by a 73% “no” vote and swore to strike Volvo-Group-owned Mack Trucks in three states beginning Monday morning. The UAW voted against ratification of a new five-year collective bargaining agreement covering about 3,900 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike has caused billions in economic damage and could further harm supply chains and local economies as the union and automakers fail to reach a deal.
The UAW has been undergoing a partial strike against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — which most recently expanded to a total of 43 locations after negotiations failed to reach a contract by the Sept. 14 deadline, already causing $3.95 billion in economic losses as of Tuesday, according to the Anderson Economic Group. The strike could be devastating to the Big Three’s market position, and stoppages could have greater effects downstream as supply chains are unable to move and local economies suffer, according to experts who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Read the full story
Major automakers have laid off even more employees as union workers continue to strike at several manufacturing plants amid contract negotiations, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ford and General Motors laid off an additional 500 workers this week, bringing the total number of workers that have lost their jobs at the companies to a combined 6,000 following a strike from the United Auto Workers (UAW), according to the WSJ. UAW is currently striking against Ford, GM and Stellantis at 43 manufacturing plants using a targeted strike strategy, with many workers remaining on the job as contract negotiations continue.
Read the full story
The United Auto Worker’s Union has reached a “tentative agreement” on a new five-year agreement with the Volvo-Group-owned Mack Trucks in three states. The union posted on social media that nearly 4,000 UAW members at Mack Trucks in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida (UAW Region 8 & Region 9) have a tentative agreement.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers (UAW) announced that they would be expanding their targeted strike to more manufacturing plants at noon on Friday following a failure to reach a new contract with automakers.
UAW announced that 7,000 more workers at two plants will join the strike at just Ford and General Motors, sparing Stellantis, as negotiations over new contracts continue to fail to reach a resolution, according to a UAW livestream Friday. The union last announced an expansion on Sept. 22 from just three plants to 41 across the U.S., with the new plants being split between Stellantis and GM, sparing Ford of more strikes after saying that the company had been more willing to cooperate in negotiations.
Read the full story
In a second GOP presidential debate that often seemed more like a disorderly reality TV show, the Babylon Bee’s satirical news headline may have best captured the mood of viewers: ‘Mute Button’ Wins GOP Debate.
The seven Republican candidates on stage at Wednesday evening’s gladiator match in Simi Valley’s Ronald Reagan Presidential Library shouted and talked over each other and slung more mud than an Iowa hog farm.
Read the full story
As Big Labor-bought President Joe Biden made his trip to Detroit on Tuesday for a photo-op stop on the United Auto Workers (UAW) picket lines, a worker freedom organization reminded those swept up in the UAW action that there are protections for workers who don’t want to strike. Nearly two weeks in, the UAW strike against Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers has grown to include 38 parts distribution plants in 21 states and more than 18,000 workers walking off the job. The union is targeting facilities and, at this point, is not calling its 145,000-plus auto workers to strike. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found 58 percent of respondents support the striking workers in general. “There may not be anyone who agrees with us right now, but I think if this [strike] goes as long as we think it might, there may be people who say, ‘I just can’t afford’ [the strike],’” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. Every work stoppage has employees who don’t follow the union line, in this case, demands for a 40 percent wage hike, a 32-hour workweek at full 40-hour pay, and retirement and health plan enhancers. The powerful…
Read the full story
Ford is pausing work on its $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant over concerns that the automobile manufacturer will be unable to operate the planned Michigan factory competitively in a decision that the United Auto Workers union says is a “barely-veiled threat” to cut jobs amid a strike against the company.
Officials have not made a final decision on whether the plant, which is set to be located in southern Michigan near the town of Marshall, will become operational, Ford spokesperson T.R. Reid said, CNN reported Monday.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers (UAW) announced on Friday that more workers will go on strike as the union and automakers continue to be unable to reach a deal.
The union announced that 38 new plants across the U.S. will join the partial strike at noon against the Big Three automakers as negotiations continue to fail to produce a new contract for the 146,000 workers, with strikes expanding against GM and Stellantis but not Ford, as the company has cooperated more than the others, according to the UAW announcement. The UAW first announced its partial strike on Sept. 14, striking at three plants: GM’s plant in Wentzville, Missouri; Ford’s plant in Wayne, Michigan; and Stellantis’ Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.
Read the full story
National political reporter Neil W. McCabe shares his insights and political acumen as a new week in presidential politics unfolds on Wednesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report. Host Michael Patrick Leahy, along with all-star panelists Crom Carmichael and Carol Swain join in to discuss Donald Trump’s latest decision to skip the second debate and instead, go to the striking UAW auto workers – and sending Michigan Democrats into a tizzy. TRANSCRIPT Michael Patrick Leahy: 7:20 a.m. – in-studio, original all-star panelist, Crom Carmichael; all-star panelist, Carol Swain. On the newsmaker line right now, the best national political correspondent in the country, our good friend, Neil W. McCabe. Neil, good morning. Neil W. McCabe: Hey, Michael, Crom, Carol, good to be with you. Michael Patrick Leahy: So we have some counterprogramming going on again from Donald J. Trump. We had the Tucker Carlson interview in the first debate of the Munchkins, and now there’s going to be a second debate at the Reagan Library Donald Trump is not going to go there. Tell us where he’s going to go and why. Neil W. McCabe: I’ll tell you, Donald Trump is brilliant. He is a showman and he is going…
Read the full story
U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s forced transition to electric vehicles (EV) threatens the bargaining power of the U.S. auto industry.
This follows the United Auto Workers (UAW), an American labor union, calling for a strike at the Big 3 U.S. automakers, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio last week. The UAW is demanding shorter work weeks, restoration of defined benefit pensions, and stronger job security as automakers transition to electric vehicles.
Read the full story
United Auto Workers striking along Michigan Avenue outside the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne since midnight want to be able to afford the vehicles they assemble.
The UAW went on strike against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors at select factories around midnight. Brandon Bell, who’s worked at the Ford plant for three years, said workers need boosted pay and benefits.
Read the full story
Up to 146,000 United Auto Workers could strike starting this week if the Big Three auto companies don’t reach a new union contract agreement by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday.
UAW Union President Shawn Fain has repeated his mantra “record profits mean record contracts.” He says Big Three executives at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have received hefty pay raises while inflation has eaten away at UAW workers’ paychecks.
Read the full story
A House Democrat predicted Tuesday on an episode of Bloomberg’s podcast “Sound On” that President Joe Biden would intervene to avoid a major auto industry strike.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) is currently in negotiations with the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — over employment contracts for unionized workers that are set to expire on Sept. 14. Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer told “Sound On” host Joe Mathieu that he believes that Biden will prevent a strike between the Big Three and UAW by intervening in negotiations, citing past interventions in union negotiations.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union authorized a strike on Friday in negotiations with major automakers, according to the union.
The union voted 97% in favor of a strike for its 150,000 autoworkers as negotiations continue with the Big Three automakers, which include Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, according to a union press release. The union is demanding wage increases to counter inflation, defined benefit pensions, retiree healthcare, the elimination of tiers for wages and benefits among other demands.
Read the full story
United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain criticized President Joe Biden on Tuesday for pushing electric vehicle goals that UAW believes do not result in great enough compensation for workers, according to The Washington Post.
Fain is still withholding an endorsement for the president by UAW after criticizing Biden for low wages at the new Ultium Cells plant, General Motors’ electric vehicle battery project that is jointly owned with LG Energy Solutions, according to the Post. UAW is currently in negotiations with top automakers Ford, GM and Stellantis over a possible strike for the 150,000 U.S. hourly workers represented by the union.
Read the full story
Ford Motor Company says it will spend $3.7 billion across three Midwestern states to create more than 6,200 new union jobs.
The United Auto Workers and Ford say they will convert nearly 3,000 temporary UAW-Ford workers to permanent full-time status and provide all hourly employees healthcare benefits on the first day at work.
Read the full story
While rank-and-file union members embraced President Trump, virtually every major union endorsed Joe Biden. A quietly issued Labor Department regulation helps explain this disconnect. President Biden has put union leaders first — even at the expense of union members.
Late last year, the Labor Department rescinded Trump Administration union transparency regulations. These regulations would have required union trust funds — like apprenticeship funds and strike funds — to disclose their receipts and expenditures.
Read the full story
A former treasurer of the United Auto Workers (UAW) has pleaded guilty to money laundering and embezzling $2.2 million from member dues.
Timothy Edmunds, the former financial secretary-treasurer of Local 412 of the UAW, is one of 17 defendants thus far convicted with the ongoing criminal investigation into UAW corruption and related illegal payoffs.
Read the full story
After intense negotiations, the United Auto Workers secured a new agreement with Ford, General Motors, and their suppliers that effectively prohibits a vaccine mandate for employees by requiring only “voluntary” disclosure of vaccination status for union members. This hard-won validation for workers points to a larger opportunity for the America First movement and organized labor to acknowledge that they are natural allies.
On critical issues ranging from medical privacy to border security and foreign trade, the emerging populist and nationalist consensus of the New Right creates an obvious home for unionized Americans. The America First cause can, in turn, help revitalize private-sector unions and guarantee a more prosperous society for our country, with a stronger middle class through a better diffusion of economic and political power.
Read the full story
United Auto Worker (UAW) John Deere production and maintenance members struck an agreement and went back to work Thursday after five weeks of striking. The strike was the first at the company since 1986.
The majority (61%) of the members approved a six-year contract with the billion-dollar manufacturer headquartered in Moline, IL, the union said in a news release. The workers had rejected two earlier offers from the company.
Read the full story
In a highly orchestrated and publicized White House gathering this month, President Biden presented a detailed plan for the development of a U.S. fleet of clean, high-mileage electric automobiles that would reduce reliance on gasoline and generate thousands of good union jobs. It’s a new, government-encouraged, taxpayer-subsidized auto world. The plan calls for U.S. auto production to become 50% electric by 2030. Today, the electric share stands at a paltry 2%.
Top leaders from Ford, GM, and Stellantis (formerly Fiat-Chrysler), along with environmentalists and governors, were prominently invited to share in the announcement. Yet the absence of any non-union, America-located auto producers was glaring. There were no representatives from Hyundai, Nissan, or Toyota – companies that have long produced popular vehicles within our borders and recently expressed some support for Biden’s goal. Also striking was the absence of Tesla’s Elon Musk, the world’s acknowledged leader in the electric car and battery revolution. Tesla is an American firm, but it is not unionized.
Read the full story
America’s largest automobile manufacturers, along with United Auto Workers (UAW), will require all employees to wear masks again starting Wednesday.
The decision was made by a COVID-19 task force comprised of health officials from UAW, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which manufactures Dodge and Chrysler vehicles. All workers, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, have to wear masks at plants, office buildings, and warehouses, UAW announced in a statement Tuesday.
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers union abandoned a lawsuit over a Michigan law, which mandates that public sector union workers reauthorize their union membership annually.
Judge George C. Steeh of the Eastern District Court of Michigan approved the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) request, and stipulated agreement with defendants, to dismiss the case entirely Wednesday. UAW filed the lawsuit on Sept. 3 along with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Read the full story
Former United Auto Workers President Gary Jones was charged with embezzlement, racketeering, and tax evasion Thursday in a massive FBI probe that has brought down several of the union’s top leaders.
Read the full story
A former high-level official in the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) General Motors Department was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison last week for taking more than $1.5 million in bribes and kickbacks.
Read the full story
Members of the United Auto Workers held a Labor Day rally in Detroit Monday, but they reportedly did so feeling anxious about other events that could affect their organization.
Read the full story
Southern Momentum, a grassroots group of Volkswagen Chattanooga workers who oppose the United Auto Workers, has released a statement concerning the results of the election at the facility. Workers rejected the UAW this week by a vote of 833 to 776. “We could not be more excited about the outcome of the election,” the workers said. “We are happy for our families, for Volkswagen Chattanooga, and for our community. What started as just a handful of us grew into a force of hardworking employees determined to better educate voters about the decision before them. And now all of us have spoken. We are grateful for those in the community who rallied behind our efforts and thankful to our fellow workers who joined us along the way. We will continue to advocate for the best interests of our families and for the future of Volkswagen Chattanooga and look forward to getting back to what we do best: working as one team to build quality cars.” As The Tennessee Star reported, one of the primary people fighting for the United Auto Workers to set up shop at Volkswagen Chattanooga reportedly had to settle a slander suit for his part in a nasty mudslinging campaign…
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers are renewing their efforts to set up shop at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant, and this time they’re seeking outside help. When asked about this, a spokesman for the Virginia-based National Right to Work Foundation said “the scandal-ridden union bosses at the UAW really have no shame at all.” According to its website, the NRTWC is a nonprofit tasked with eliminating coercive union power and compulsory unionism abuses. “After the Volkswagen workers’ 2014 vote to reject the union, UAW officials sought to overturn their vote on the grounds that workers heard too much information that was critical of unionization from elected leaders from Tennessee,” said NRTWC spokesman Patrick T. Semmens, in an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star. “Now the very same UAW officials have three UAW-funded out-of-state Senators attempting to interfere with the NLRB’s own established procedures for dealing with election petitions.” According to The Memphis Commercial Appeal, those three U.S. senators, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan; and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, have questioned Volkswagen about the matter. “You have to wonder whether the UAW hierarchy knows more details are coming out soon about their massive embezzlement and corruption scandal, and this whole…
Read the full story
The United Auto Workers has suffered another stinging defeat as workers overwhelmingly voted against unionizing at the Fuyao Chinese-owned car glass plant in Ohio. UAW officials blamed what they called the company’s aggressive anti-union tactics, and labor experts said it showed that companies have the advantage over any effort by workers to unionize. Employees at the…
Read the full story