Shawn Fain is a badass and is the first prez to actually fight for these workers in ages. Fain was the first UAW president directly elected by the union's members. Former UAW President Gary Jones is in prison for embezzling. Former Vice Terry Dittes was a flat-out sell-out after plants were closed in 2019. The corps have had their way since the union jumped in their bed in 2008.

At GM, 'legacy' costs (healthcare and pensions) were shifted to the union responsibility in 2008 (after the crash). Union made a one time 8B payment to provide future funding but were able to remove that from their balance sheet. A lot of eyebrows were raised. Since then, it seems, the two have been partners in crime. Especially since none of the ancillary arguments and demands are met in contract after contract.

Yes, I have a vested interest. My wife and I are in our third city since GM closed in Lordstown. GM wasn't closed, it was "unallocated", fancy term for f#$%ing you out of contract language that would have required GM to provide work in the same region or offer early retirement / buyout (depending on age and service time). Previous prez shifted that to an arbitration process when signing last contract. We waited three years for arbitration to take place as the corp dragged it's feet. After a two week arbitration finally took place, the arbitrator declared that the case was "unarbitratable" because of language in the contract.

Thousands still waiting with lives on hold. We're lucky, I was selling my biz at the time anyway, kids are grown, house is paid for, we left together and considered it an adventure. Silly to walk away from 20 years of service (pension at 30) and Cadillac Health Care. Most of these situations are three dudes in an apartment working all the overtime they can to support their families at home. Missing their kids birthdays, graduations, etc. And worst of all spending four years waiting and waiting for a resolution, impossible to make life decisions, afraid to make decisions pin-the-tail-style that may eff up your life moving forward. Within two months in Missourri (the most common shipping point for most Lordstown workers) we had two suicides and a heart attack.

The media has painted (and jealous neighbors have perpetuated) auto workers as greedy and overpaid. They wreck their bodies everyday and haven't had a raise in 15 years. They gave up COLA (cost of living adjustments) in 2008 to 'preserve' their jobs when the corps cried broke. Since then the big three has made one quarter trillion in profits. Record profits every year.


Swish hit the nail on the head with the negotiation process. The workers don't even want a 32 hour work week... and nobody is getting a 40% raise... but that's all the media wants to talk about. So proud of my wife and her coworkers, literally taking a back seat and making no noise about their own struggle, fighting their asses off for the truly abused: the 'temporary' workers that the corp keeps in endless loopholes and refuse to make whole. Working 5+ years with that status: no pension, no accrued universal seniority, crap pay and limited health care... while the carrot of a better day is waved in front of their face. Fain has already ended that across the board. And told the whole community from get that that was priority #1.

I'm going to stop, or I'll write a book.

Bottom line: Fain shocked everybody when he said how he was going to handle this strike. Usually it's a cordial affair between all those on the take. They pick one of the three corps to strike and the three toy around with the union, throw them a bone or two, and starve out the striking workers with a signing bonus. Fain picked all three to strike (with limited plants), and has added plants as necessary depending on progress. When Ford was the only one working, he added parts plants from GM and Stellantis. Ford got cozy. He walked in a week later, asked them if they've made any progress, they said no. "Meeting lasted five minutes. Ford said they had nothing to offer, Fain said 'You just lost Kentucky'." Now their biggest, most profitable plant is out. He calls it a stand-up strike and announces them during shifts. Everybody just stands up and walks off the job.

Alright, I'll finish the book.

The biggest win so far is Fain securing all battery plants across the states as union shops. The Big Three were hiding behind "joint ventures" to avoid full pay and UAW status at all these plants.

GM closed Lordstown because they said they "couldn't cover that nut selling only 2000 cars per month"... after sabotaging the Cruze (best selling car, highest rated in it's class) with no incentives... and plant upgrades that resulted in parking lots full of repairs. They sold the plant (and backed the company financially) to a company that intended to sell 2000 trucks per year. 😯 Alas, that company couldn't make a truck that wouldn't set itself on fire. Now GM has a battery plant in Lordstown.

With the help of Fain, all these displaced workers should be able to return home and make batteries. Unfortunately, for GM, they won't have slave labor in the mines and the factories.