UAW holds Red Shirt Rally as strike looms

Hundreds turn out in support of worker-friendly contract for Big Three autoworkers

This article is brought to you by Freedom Financial.

Foster Park’s normally green fields were covered in red on Sept. 13 as hundreds of United Auto Workers, their friends, family, and supporters gathered for a “Red Shirt Rally” on the night before their national contract with Stellantis, General Motors, and Ford expires.

The message was clear: the Big Three automakers must agree to significant, if not historic, gains for the workers. And the union will strike if they don’t.

In two rallies at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., local and international UAW leaders took to the stage to pump up the crowd and prepare them for what promises to be a painful fight. UAW Local 1166 President Dave Willis led the rally as his local organized the event. He was joined by UAW Local 685 President Garry Quirk, UAW Region 2B Director David Green, UAW Local 1302 President Weed Widup, and UAW Local 292 retiree Bob Stephenson.

Willis spent his time hyping up the crowd, railing against Stellantis and the automakers’ history of demanding concessions and weakening the workers’ voices. That message was echoed by the other speakers, as they related personal experiences with the company and commiserated with the membership about the sacrifices and difficulties they face.

But it was UAW International President Shawn Fain and UAW International Vice President Rich Boyer who truly brought the picture of what is to come into focus. Taking a break from the bargaining table, the two leaders sente video messages from Detroit, explaining where the negotiations stand and what will be needed from the members.

“We're still at an impasse on a lot of our crucial demands,” said Boyer. “One being job security. One being the future of the membership. One being the elimination of tiers of supplemental workers. We have honestly been sitting down with the company trying to come to an agreement without going on strike.

“It's never been our intention. It's always been the intention to get a fair and equitable agreement for every member of this union, not just the ones that have been here for a while, not just for the ones that are starting out. For everyone, our retirees, our supplementals, our full-time employees, our senior employees, everybody.”

Unfortunately, Boyer’s message had a dark tone underlying it. He stated that the union will “take whatever action is necessary” to ensure the company meets the members’ demands.

“If we don't take these folks on now, it's over with. It's done,” said Boyer. “And we're not asking for anything that we don't deserve. We're asking for a fair wage for a fair day's work. We're asking for the ability to provide for our families. We're asking for them to quit worrying about generational wealth for themselves, and to not think that we're indentured servants.

“We build the products. We lose our time with our families because we're in these plants. When you come to work every day, that's a moment in time you're taking away from your family. Think about all the birthday parties you've missed. Think about all the all the graduations you missed. Think about all the wedding receptions you missed. And yet they're saying that you're overpaid. And they're saying you don't deserve more. I'm not buying it.”

Fain, a Local 1166 member and Kokomo native, provided the capstone message for the rallies. He repeatedly characterized the contract fight as “our generation’s defining moment.” He pointed out that the UAW and the automotive industry once led the nation when it came to gains and protections for all workers. But the wages and benefits that once led the working class now barely allow families to make ends meet.

“Sadly, we no longer set the standard,” said Fain. “We have multiple tiers of workers. We have rampant temp abuse. The majority of our Big Three members don't have any retirement security. Job security provisions have been suspended. Cost of Living Allowances have been suspended. Local 292 is hanging by a thread due to the continued outsourcing of our jobs. And now we've got a behemoth EV battery plant being built right in our own backyard. As it stands now, none of us have any future with that work.

“We are done sitting on the sidelines while the billionaire class gets richer at the expense of the working class. We are done busting our asses to create hundreds of billions in profits for the companies, creating millions in salary increases for the executives while our members fall further behind, scraping to get by paycheck to paycheck. We are done aiming low and settling lower. This is our defining moment.”

Fain’s words foreshadow a second fight that hasn’t yet taken place. Once a national agreement is reached, each local union must set agreements with their plants individually. For the UAW in Kokomo, the top issue will be unionization of the StarPlus Energy EV battery plant.

As Willis and Quirk both pointed out in their speeches, an EV battery represents the powertrain for an electric vehicle. They don’t use engines and transmissions like an internal combustion vehicle. Since transmissions and engines are Kokomo’s stock in trade, the conversion of the entire industry to electric vehicles puts the community’s future at risk.

By unionizing StarPlus Energy, the UAW hopes to ensure a future for its members and Kokomo. Given that starting wages at Samsung battery plants are just $16.50 an hour, the argument is easily made that the $2.5 billion investment by Stellantis and Samsung SDI won’t be as lucrative for the people of the community as one might believe.

Faced with low compensation and a lack of job protections, workers at a Samsung battery plant in Ohio recently joined the UAW, providing a roadmap for Kokomo and other communities struggling with this sea change in the industry.

“What's going to win our fair share of economic and social justice is you all raising hell in a righteous fight,” said Fain. “We have to be willing to stand up and get our demands by any means necessary. So how far are you willing to go?

“Are you willing to go the distance? Are you willing to stand in solidarity with people you don't know across the entire country? Are you willing to stand up for what you deserve, for what your family deserves, for what Kokomo deserves, for what the entire working class deserves? It's time for the UAW to stand up, and I know Kokomo will stand up, because we have a long history of strong leaders who are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. So, let's get to it.”