With its corruption scandal occupying headlines for weeks, the United Auto Workers (UAW) has declared that it will go on strike against General Motors.
It’s been more than a decade since the United Auto Workers (UAW) called a nationwide strike against one of the Detroit Three automakers.
Nevertheless, with its reputation in tatters due to an ongoing corruption scandal and investigation that is putting its top officials under the Justice Department’s microscope, the UAW has decided to call its 49,000 workers employed by General Motors out on strike, as of midnight Sunday night.
“General Motors says it presented what it believes was a strong offer to the roughly 49,000 workers at its U.S. plants,” reported the Associated Press, “including improved wages and benefits and investments in eight facilities in four states.”
“We stood up for General Motors when they needed us most. Now we are standing together in unity and solidarity for our Members, their families and the communities where we work and live,” said UAW Vice President Terry Dittes in a UAW press release.
The decision to strike comes a day after UAW Vice President Terry Dittes notified General Motors leadership that the Union would not agree to extend the Collective Bargaining Agreements, the union stated.
“We told UAW GM members that we would stand up for them and their future,” said Gary Jones, President of the UAW.
Jones, as well as his predecessor, retired UAW president Dennis Williams, are both under intense scrutiny as co-conspirators by the U.S. Justice Department for “numerous instances of misspending on golf, golf equipment, cigars, months-long rentals at private villas and falsified expense reports,” according to the Detroit News.
Last week, Vance Pearson, one of Jones’ former top aides was arrested and charged with embezzlement from the union, alleging that he spent “vast sums being spent on lavish entertainment by labor leaders – including $440 bottles of champagne originally created to please a Russian czar and scantily clad women to light union leaders’ cigars.”
FUN FACT: Every week, past week two, that the @UAW is out on strike against #GeneralMotors will cost the union $12,250,000 in strike pay to the 49,000 striking #UAW members. pic.twitter.com/M3m1BiSKIP
— LaborUnionReport.com (@WorkPlaceRpt) September 15, 2019
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