Commentary: Public Sector Unions Are a Growing Threat to Taxpayers

Following the resolution of the six-week United Auto Workers strike last month and the ensuing glut of news coverage, one could be forgiven for believing that private sector unions were experiencing a generational comeback the likes of which haven’t been seen since their halcyon days of the 1950s.

The reality, however, couldn’t be further from the truth: union participation in the private sector is now a tiny sliver of the overall employment picture in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unionization rate of private-sector workers currently sits below 6% at just under 7 million workers nationwide – down from 17 million in 1950.

Read More

UAW Expands Strike Against GM Hours After Reaching Deal with Rival Stellantis and Ford

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Saturday expanded its strike against General Motors (GM) after it reached an agreement with its competitors on Wednesday and Saturday, the union confirmed in an X post.

The UAW and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) reached a deal similar to the four-year agreement reached on Wednesday between Ford and the UAW, which provides a 25 percent pay increase and cost of living adjustments, as well as the ability to strike over plant closures. It was expected that GM would also make a deal with the union after Stellantis on Saturday, but instead employees at a Tennessee GM factory received orders to expand the company’s strike, the local union posted on X.

Read More

Report: Ford, United Auto Workers Reach Tentative Deal to End Strike

The United Auto Workers union and Ford Motor Company have reached a tentative deal to end the ongoing strike, pending approval from union leaders. The ongoing strike has thus far lasted nearly six weeks. Exact terms of the agreement remain unclear, though the final deal could be announced as early as Wednesday evening, CNBC reported, citing sources familiar with the talks.

Read More

Auto Workers Union Just Shut Down Ford’s Biggest and Most Profitable Plant

The United Auto Workers (UAW) unexpectedly walked off the job Wednesday evening at the largest Ford plant in an escalation of its strike against major automakers.

Around 8,700 UAW members walked off the job at 6:30 p.m. ET at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville yesterday in a previously unannounced move, completely shutting down the plant, according to an announcement from the UAW. The new strike location comes as UAW workers are already striking at 43 other plants at the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — across the U.S. in a strike that started after contract negotiations failed to reach a deal before their Sept. 14 deadline.

Read More

UAW Workers Reject Proposal; Nearly 4,000 Go on Strike Against Mack Trucks

The United Auto Workers Union rejected a proposed contract by a 73% “no” vote and swore to strike Volvo-Group-owned Mack Trucks in three states beginning Monday morning. The UAW voted against ratification of a new five-year collective bargaining agreement covering about 3,900 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida.

Read More

UAW Strike Costs Billions in Losses with No End in Sight

The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike has caused billions in economic damage and could further harm supply chains and local economies as the union and automakers fail to reach a deal.

The UAW has been undergoing a partial strike against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — which most recently expanded to a total of 43 locations after negotiations failed to reach a contract by the Sept. 14 deadline, already causing $3.95 billion in economic losses as of Tuesday, according to the Anderson Economic Group. The strike could be devastating to the Big Three’s market position, and stoppages could have greater effects downstream as supply chains are unable to move and local economies suffer, according to experts who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Read More

UAW Reaches ‘Tentative Agreement’ with Mack Trucks in Three States

The United Auto Worker’s Union has reached a “tentative agreement” on a new five-year agreement with the Volvo-Group-owned Mack Trucks in three states.  The union posted on social media that nearly 4,000 UAW members at Mack Trucks in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida (UAW Region 8 & Region 9) have a tentative agreement.

Read More

Worker Freedom Group: There Are Protections for Auto Workers Who Don’t Want to Strike

As Big Labor-bought President Joe Biden made his trip to Detroit on Tuesday for a photo-op stop on the United Auto Workers (UAW) picket lines, a worker freedom organization reminded those swept up in the UAW action that there are protections for workers who don’t want to strike. Nearly two…

Read More

UAW Announces Massive Expansion of Strike Against Major Automakers

The United Auto Workers (UAW) announced on Friday that more workers will go on strike as the union and automakers continue to be unable to reach a deal.

The union announced that 38 new plants across the U.S. will join the partial strike at noon against the Big Three automakers as negotiations continue to fail to produce a new contract for the 146,000 workers, with strikes expanding against GM and Stellantis but not Ford, as the company has cooperated more than the others, according to the UAW announcement. The UAW first announced its partial strike on Sept. 14, striking at three plants: GM’s plant in Wentzville, Missouri; Ford’s plant in Wayne, Michigan; and Stellantis’ Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.

Read More

House Dem Predicts Biden Will Intervene to Stop Strike Against Big Three Automakers

A House Democrat predicted Tuesday on an episode of Bloomberg’s podcast “Sound On” that President Joe Biden would intervene to avoid a major auto industry strike.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) is currently in negotiations with the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — over employment contracts for unionized workers that are set to expire on Sept. 14. Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer told “Sound On” host Joe Mathieu that he believes that Biden will prevent a strike between the Big Three and UAW by intervening in negotiations, citing past interventions in union negotiations.

Read More

Major Auto Union Authorizes Strike for 150,000 Workers

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union authorized a strike on Friday in negotiations with major automakers, according to the union.

The union voted 97% in favor of a strike for its 150,000 autoworkers as negotiations continue with the Big Three automakers, which include Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, according to a union press release. The union is demanding wage increases to counter inflation, defined benefit pensions, retiree healthcare, the elimination of tiers for wages and benefits among other demands.

Read More

UPS Unionized Workers Vote to Authorize a Strike

As contract negotiations continue, UPS workers who are part of the Teamsters union voted overwhelmingly to organize a strike that could start as soon as the beginning of August. 

The union wants better pay, elimination of surveillance cameras in the trucks and more full time jobs, according to CBS News. To bolster their case, the Teamsters point to record profits for UPS in 2022, saying the company paid out more that $8 billion in shareholder dividends. 

Read More

Parent Groups ‘Fed Up’ with Striking Los Angeles Unions ‘Using Kids as Pawns’

Parent groups in California and those specifically in Los Angeles are enraged that tens of thousands of staff and teachers of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) went out on strike Tuesday, demanding higher pay and increased staffing in district schools.

“Parents are fed up with LAUSD unions using kids as pawns in contract negotiations,” tweeted Parent Union (CPC), a coalition of parents, parent groups, education reform advocates and community leaders dedicated to advancing meaningful education policies, accountability and choice in California’s K-12 education system.” 

Read More

Rail Workers Reject New Contracts, Reviving Strike Fears After Biden Took Credit for Ending Dispute

A major rail-worker union having rejected a Biden administration-backed labor contract has reignited concerns about a strike that could worsen the county’s ongoing supply chain issues and fuel inflation that has already reached record highs, in part over a scarcity of goods. 

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the Teamsters on Monday rejected the tentative contract in large part over a lack of paid sick days, union President Tony Cardell said.

Read More

Columbus Teachers Start School Year on Picket Lines

Students in Ohio’s largest school district will begin classes Wednesday remotely after teachers rejected a final contract offer and voted to strike late Sunday night.

Columbus Education Association teachers were on the picket line at several school buildings Monday morning, the first day teachers were scheduled to report, after 94% of its members voted to strike for the first time since 1975.

Read More

Kellogg’s Employees Agree to New Contract Ending over Two Month Long Strike

The roughly 1,400 striking Kellogg’s workers ended a 10-week strike and voted in favor of a new labor contract with the cereal giant, multiple sources reported.

“Our striking members at Kellogg’s ready-to-eat cereal production facilities courageously stood their ground and sacrificed so much in order to achieve a fair contract,” Anthony Shelton, the president of the workers’ union, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, said in a statement, The New York Times reported. “This agreement makes gains and does not include any concessions.”

Read More