Luis Feliz Leon

Amazon Concedes an Earbud

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About 25 people walk along a sidewalk, some carrying signs.
December 14, 2023

Sometimes workers just want to listen to music to escape the drudgery of repetitive work. But until recently, Amazon prohibited workers in all its facilities to use earbuds while stuffing boxes—and handed out write-ups to workers who defied the ban.

Sure, managers would blast music on the loudspeakers—but then workers couldn’t hear each other talking across the conveyor belt. And what if workers wanted to hear their own music, or an audiobook on organizing?

Inspired by Strike Wins, 1,000 Volkswagen Workers Sign Union Cards

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A masked worker in overalls place a seat into a car on an assembly line.
December 07, 2023

Today workers at Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tennessee, assembly plant announced their third bid to unionize plant-wide with the Auto Workers (UAW).

Riding the momentum of its strike of the Big 3 automakers, the UAW now wants to double its numbers in the auto industry by adding 150,000 workers at companies that have long avoided unionization. Thirteen non-union automakers are on notice: Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Volkswagen, and electric vehicle producers Rivian, Tesla, and Lucid.

Auto Workers Direct Momentum Toward Organizing Plants Across the U.S.

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A determined-looking woman with a crowd behind her wears a red shirt saying UAW, Back in the Fight
November 30, 2023

“The company knows that Toyota workers are watching,” said Auto Workers President Shawn Fain on November 3. “And when the time comes, Toyota workers and all non-union auto workers are going to be ready to stand up.”

That time has come—yesterday the UAW announced its plan, already in motion, to organize the whole auto sector. “Workers across the country, from the West to the Midwest and especially in the South, are reaching out to join our movement and to join the UAW,” said Fain in a new video.

Auto Workers Halt Stellantis’s Biggest Moneymaker

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A Black man in sunglasses with an exuberant expression exits a factory turnstile with his right arm raised.
October 23, 2023

Today 6,800 Auto Workers (UAW) struck the most profitable Stellantis plant in the world.

At 10 a.m. workers streamed out of the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP), near Detroit, where they build the Ram 1500 pickup.

“It’s just real now,” said Crystal Pasarcik, the sergeant-at-arms at Local 1700, which represents the plant.

It’s Working: Auto Workers’ Strike Strategy Is Forcing the Big 3 to Pony Up

Luis Feliz Leon
A group of people in red shirts, one man carrying a child march past the camera with signs saying Stellantis is barganing in bad faith.

The Auto Workers (UAW) have thrown the Big 3 on the back foot.

For the first time in recent history, the union is playing the automakers against each other—departing from its tradition of choosing one target company and patterning an agreement at the other two.

And its gradually escalating Stand-Up Strike strategy has multiplied the pressure that can move the companies off the dime.

Every Friday for four weeks, the CEOs waited with bated breath for UAW President Shawn Fain to announce strike targets.

Auto Workers Spare Big 3, Win Landmark Just Transition at General Motors

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Three women smile at the camera with UAW on Strike signs.
October 06, 2023

On Facebook Live Friday afternoon, Auto Workers President Shawn Fain symbolically awarded roses to automakers General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford based on progress at the negotiating table, a reference to the reality show “The Bachelor.” The only thing missing was teary-eyed CEOs breathing a sigh of relief as the UAW agreed not to widen its strike to more factories for now.

Twenty-Five Thousand Auto Workers Are Now on Strike at the Big 3

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UAW members and supporters at a rally. Many hold signs saying UAW on Strike. Several have their children on their shoulders.
September 29, 2023

Seven thousand Auto Workers at two more assembly plants will walk off the job at noon ET today, UAW President Shawn Fain announced in a Facebook Live appearance this morning. Joining the strike are Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and General Motors’ Lansing Delta Township Assembly in Michigan.

Scabs Deployed at GM Parts Distribution Centers

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Six smiling workers carrying "UAW On Strike" picket signs raise their fists in the air outside a GM CCA facility. The workers are a mix of Black and white, men and women. Some of the picket signs are wrapped in plastic bags, and one worker carries an open umbrella.
September 25, 2023

Auto workers at the Big 3 expanded their strike last Friday to a key vulnerability: parts distribution centers that supply dealerships with everything from water pumps to brake drums and spark plugs to replacement bumpers.

On Tuesday morning, General Motors began bringing in temps hired for $14 an hour to attempt to keep some of the parts and accessories flowing.

Auto Workers Strike Spreads to 38 Parts Depots

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Auto workers march with signs that say “Stellantis Bargining in bad faith” One man is carrying a four-year old child.
September 22, 2023

The clock has ticked and tocked for two of the Big 3 automakers. At noon 5,000 more members of the Auto Workers (UAW) at 38 parts distribution centers for Stellantis and General Motors walked off the job. The facilities are spread across 20 states.

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