Union auto workers voted, by a large majority, to authorize strikes while the United Auto Workers (UAW) union negotiates contracts with General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Fiat Chrysler.
UAW members voted about 96 percent to allow union workers to strike while UAW leaders negotiate contracts with GM, Ford, and Chrysler — a vote that merely authorizes strikes and does not indicate that strikes will be held.
UAW President Gary Jones said in a statement:
No one goes into collective bargaining taking a strike lightly. But it is a key tool in the tool belt as our bargaining team sits across from the company. Ultimately, the company holds that destiny in their hands as they bargain. Clearly the UAW stood up for them in a very dark time, now that they are profitable it is time for them to stand up for all of us.
The fiercest contract negotiations are set to be between the UAW and GM executives, as the multinational corporation has idled two plants in the United States this year — in Lordstown, Ohio and Warren, Michigan — laid off thousands of American workers from their jobs at the plants, and is expected to leave workers in supporting industries laid off.
Meanwhile, GM executives announced that the 2021 Chevy Trailblazer and 2020 Buick Encore GX will both be manufactured in South Korea and exported to the U.S. market for sale, undercutting the corporation’s claim that they manufacture products where they sell them.
The UAW, most recently, has been embroiled in scandal as the FBI and IRS raided Jones’ home last month as part of an ongoing corruption probe into the auto industry’s effort to influence union negotiations.
Already, eight individuals have pleaded guilty following an investigation where UAW bosses and Chrysler executives were accused of colluding to profit off a job training center in Detroit, Michigan.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.