John,

With all the bad news in the world right now, you may have missed an incredible victory for workers across the country last week:

After six weeks of targeted walkouts at the big three automakers — Ford, GM, and Stellantis — the United Auto Workers reached an historic tentative deal! The UAW won because they combined a bold and innovative strike strategy around engaging, mobilizing and trusting members with inspiring leadership from new President Shawn Fain, who cast the autoworkers’ struggle as part of a larger battle against runaway corporate power in the U.S.  

Last year, the Big Three automakers made $250 billion in profits¹, meanwhile UAW workers have not even seen a cost-of-living adjustment since 2009. As Fain said, “Record profits means record contracts.”² And the contract won by UAW is certainly record-breaking.

While the agreement still needs to be voted on by UAW members, in this deal, 146,000 workers at the three companies have won:³

• A 25% wage increase including an 11% bump in the first year plus restoration of cost-of-living adjustments worth as much as an additional 7-9% over the life of the agreement,

• Elimination of the two-tiered wage system that had turned thousands of temps and recently hired workers into second class citizens; some of these workers will see wage increases of 150% or more over the next four years,

• Increased contributions to retirement accounts,

• Language that brings non-union Big 3 battery manufacturing workers into the union and up to the pay and standards won by Big 3 workers,

• And, perhaps most remarkably, the right to strike over plant closures — giving workers unprecedented say over corporate investment decisions.

This is not just a victory for workers at UAW, but a victory for workers everywhere. It is proof that collective action works — and that when working people come together in unions, bridging our differences, anything is possible.

And we know there are more fights in front of us.

Actors and performers, represented by SAG-AFTRA, have been on strike since July. They are demanding better pay and working conditions as well as protecting their jobs from the threat of artificial intelligence, but big streaming companies and studios who rake in billions every year, refuse to budge. We continue to stand in solidarity with workers everywhere who demand a better future for their families and communities.

If you can, find a picket line near you to support SAG-AFTRA workers on strike today.

Then, chip in to the Working Families Party to help us elect more champions of the working class to office up-and-down the ballot.

Contribute

With love and solidarity,

All of us at the Working Families Party

Sources:

1. President Fain on Facebook Live: Big Three's Record Profits Mean Record Contracts, UAW, August 2, 2023

2. UAW-automakers negotiations pit falling wages against skyrocketing CEO pay, Economic Policy Institute, September 12, 2023

3. UAW reaches tentative deal with GM, last of 3 automakers hit by strike, Axios, October 30, 2023

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