The UAW Is Ready to Fight (w/ Marcelina Pedraza, Torice Sawyer, & Nick Livick)

Working People

After the high-stakes contract fight between the Teamsters and UPS, the eyes of labor are now on the contract negotiations currently taking place between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler). The UAW’s master agreement with the Big Three covers around 150,000 autoworkers, and the current contract expires on September 14. If a tentative agreement is not reached by then, the auto industry could be the next to be rocked by a major strike, and UAW president Shawn Fain has stated clearly that the union is prepared to strike at all three automakers if necessary. What brought us to this point, and what's at stake in this contract fight (for autoworkers, for the UAW, and for the labor movement writ large)? What are workers demanding, and what role do we all have to play in ensuring they get the contract they deserve? In this panel discussion, we talk with three rank-and-file workers and UAW members from each of the Big Three automakers: Marcelina Pedraza, a Ford electrician in Chicago and member of UAW Local 551; Torice Sawyer, a Stellantis plant worker at the Detroit Assembly Complex–Jefferson and member of UAW Local 7; Nicholas Livick, a General Motors autoworker and rank-and-file member of UAW Local 31 in Kansas City.

Additional links/info below…

• United Auto Workers website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD) Facebook page, Twitter page, and Instagram
• Dan DiMaggio & Keith Brower Brown, Labor Notes, "Auto Workers Have Big Demands for the Big 3"
• Luis Feliz Leon, Labor Notes, "Kentucky Auto Workers at Ford Are Preparing for a Strike"
• Luis Feliz Leon, The American Prospect, "As Auto Workers Contract Talks Heat Up, Stellantis Threatens to Move South"
• Teddy Ostrow & Ruby Walsh, The Upsurge / The Real News Network, "Auto Workers May Strike Next Week—What Electric Vehicles Have to Do With It"
• Teddy Ostrow & Ruby Walsh, The Upsurge / The Real News Network, "United Auto Workers Could Strike Next After Teamsters"
• Maximillian Alvarez, Breaking Points, "UAW Worker SPEAKS OUT As Union Prepares For Historic Strike"
• Working People, "Justin Mayhugh"
• Michael Wayland, CNBC, "Second UAW President Sentenced to 28 Months in Prison in Union Corruption Probe"
• Jonah Furman, The Real News Network / Labor Notes, "A Once-in-a_Generation Chance to Revive the UAW Is Coming"
• Jonah Furman, The Real News Network / Labor Notes, "Auto Workers Win Direct Democracy in Referendum"

Permanent links below...

• Working People Patreon page
• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song