Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
BEDFORD – Wearing red shirts emblazoned with the United Auto Workers logo and carrying signs that read “Saving the American Dream,” UAW Local 440 members rallied in downtown Bedford Sunday to support contract talks that have now entered the second week.
The UAW strike against the Big Three automakers – Ford, General Motors and Stellantis – began Sept. 14 with workers at three plants walking out. On Sept. 22, the strike expanded to 38 plants across 20 states.
UAW President Shawn Fain said additional plants will join the strike if progress is not made.
Workers at the Bedford GM plant remain on the job, but are prepared to join the strike, according to UAW Local 440 President Derek Cronin. Sunday’s rally brought a large number of UAW members and supporters to Harp Commons.
Shannon Barnett, a 28-year UAW member, passed out signs as the rally got under way.
“This shows the community that we are in the community and support our community. When we strive for a better living for ourselves, we strive for a better living for the working-class families in America. It speaks to the importance of American-made and just standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves,” said Barnett, UAW Local 440 community services chairman and benefits representative.
Speakers included District 40 State Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington; District 29 State Sen. JD Ford, D-Indianapolis; David Green, UAW Region 2B representative, UnoBlessed Coons, executive director of the Indiana AFL-CIO.
Green worked at the Bedford Casting Operation plant for three years and prior to that, worked for 24 years at a GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that closed in 2019. He now represents 180,000 active and retired members in Indiana and Ohio.
Green was at the rally to update members on the negotiations and for them to know how important solidarity is.
“This fight we’re fighting today is about the working class,” he said.
Wages, benefits, reinstating cost of living raises and the end of employees tiers are some of the issues on the table.
Regarding key contract issues, Green said, “Eliminating the tiers has been a big issue and I think we’re moving in the right direction there. Cost of living is also a big one. We’re not asking for anything out of the ordinary. We just want to regain some of the things we lost 15 years ago.”
A better work-life balance as it relates to mandatory overtime is another issue.
“Corporate media beats us up over the (demand for) 32-hour work week and 40% pay increase. You have to recognize that this is bargaining and we have to start somewhere,” Green said. “Quite frankly, a 32-hour work week opens that conversation for us about work-life balance. A lot of our members are forced into overtime working six or seven days a week and it’s not right. They need to have work-life balance. They have families, they coach baseball teams, volunteer at women’s shelters … in order to be active members in this community they need to have work-life balance.”
He said a worker at a plant in Toledo has worked six 10-hour days a week for the last 12 years. Green said voluntary overtime or overtime that is necessary for a set amount of time would be acceptable, but the UAW wants an end to indefinite, mandatory OT.
‘A fight for generations to come’
With a group of children behind them holding support for UAW signs, Ford and Yoder addressed the crowd from the Harp Commons stage.
Ford recalled the federal bailout of the US auto industry in 2008 when GM and Chrysler were facing bankruptcy and the potential for 1 million job losses. According to Politico, the effort cost taxpayers $10.2 billion.
“They asked for a little of all of us,” Ford said, referring to the auto bailout. “Well, now we’re asking a little from them.”
Yoder said the UAW strike reaches beyond picket lines and UAW members.
“Ours is not a fight for each other, it’s a fight for generations to come. We’re not asking for anything more than being able to work a job with dignity and to be paid wages that are dignified,” Yoder said. “It’s time to look greed in the face and say, ‘No more.’ We stand united with you … and in that unifying power and presence, we will overcome.”