Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
Nearly a week into the United Auto Workers strike and with a Friday noon deadline looming, the United Auto Workers Local 440 in Bedford is prepared to join the strike.
UAW Local 440 President Derek Cronin said the membership was prepared to strike last week when the UAW contract expired.
“We have committees set up and all the apparatuses needed,” he said. “If we’re identified tomorrow, we will be at the ready to walk people out.”
The UAW contract expired at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14. UAW President Shawn Fain has taken a different strategy to negotiating a new contract. Rather than strike against one automaker, the UAW is striking against all three: GM, Ford and Stellantis.
Calling this a stand-up strike, three plants, one from each automaker, walked out last week, but Fain recently said more plants would join the strike if progress between automakers and union leadership has not been made by noon Friday.
The Local 440 represents about 500 members at the Bedford General Motors plant. The Bedford GM plant last experienced a strike during the 2019 contract negotiation. That strike lasted about 40 days.
Cronin said he’s uncertain whether or not the Bedford plant will be called on to strike, but either way, he said the membership is prepared.
“The general feeling on the floor is, if we have to go out, we’re ready,” he said. “The strike in 2019 was the first time in a long time and it was a different mood then. I think this time people are more aware of what a strike means and they are definitely more prepared.
“Anytime we’re coming up on a contract expiration, it raises anxiety because of the uncertainty. We’re talking about people’s lives, their paychecks, their benefit coverage. But by and large, the membership is 100% behind doing what’s needed to get the contract we deserve.”
Contract issues
The union is seeking 40% hourly pay increases; a reduced, 32-hour workweek; a shift back to traditional pensions; the elimination of compensation tiers; and a restoration of cost-of-living adjustments. Other items on the table include enhanced retiree benefits and better vacation and family leave benefits.
So far, the companies have offered pay raises of approximately 20%. The automakers have said the demands would put them at a competitive disadvantage. The UAW has countered that the CEOs make millions and the automakers are raking in profits.
Cronin said the issues the union is fighting for are issues that are important to all workers.
“In negotiating this contract to get better wages, better time off, better working conditions, it’s not something we’re just fighting for the UAW,” Cronin said. “As the union goes, so goes everyone else. We’re fighting for all working people. Ultimately the main goal is to raise all working people. When you look at other manufacturing jobs, other companies have to be competitive with the standard the union has set. We’re raising the standard for everyone, whether they’re in a union or not.”
Currently, employees at a Ford plant in Michigan, Stellantis plant in Ohio and GM assembly plant in Missouri are striking.
Solidarity rally Sunday at Harp Commons
From 1-4 p.m. Sunday, the UAW Local 440 will hold a solidarity rally in Harp Commons on J Street in downtown Bedford. Friends and family of Local 440 members and those who support organized labor are invited.