United Auto Workers (UAW) union rank and file members shout down their own UAW leadership in a heated meeting on January 24th, as their UAW leader loses it at the podium. Sunday’s meeting in California made last summer’s Town Halls look like a family picnic, after a few choice words from their UAW leader spurred the crowd of rank and file members to erupt in screaming and chaos. At one point, another attendee tries to reason with the crowd, pleading “we have women and children in here that are scared.”
WARNING: Strong language, angry-town-hall-mob-like-behavior
Workers from the Fremont, California NUMMI plant, the UAW-represented joint venture between Toyota and General Motors, will lose their jobs after March 31st when the plant is slated to close, due to high labor costs and stricter environmental standards in California. They’re angry with their local UAW leaders for not representing their interests and accuse the UAW of “politicizing” the plant’s closure. Workers say it’s a waste of time and money to demand that Toyota keep the plant open and want UAW leaders to focus instead on negotiating their severance package. But leaders have been practically MIA for the last 6 months.
Last year, many workers at other GM plants were actually willing to make concessions to avoid the massive auto industry bankruptcy and keep their fellow UAW workers employed elsewhere, even if it meant closing their own plants in some cases.
The full report from my friend Peter List over at LaborUnionReport.com sets up the scene:
“At one point, one UAW leader (identified as Javier Contreras) yelled at the crowd, telling them to “…Shut the f*ck up, you motherf*ckers!…
Things got so bad, that UAW leaders had to call the police to restore order.”
Wow. If this is how these union leaders treat their own rank and file members, I shudder to think what hospital board meetings will be like if Health Care somehow passes.
Check out Peter’s full report here.