Luis Feliz Leon

‘No Justice, No Jeeps!’ Scenes from the Auto Workers Strike

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Workers hold signs at night--they are backlit by traffic and street lights but one sign is legible, saying ‘everyone tier one.’
September 15, 2023

The strike is on. Last night the Auto Workers (UAW) shut down three major assembly plants at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler). It’s the first time in history the union has struck all three companies at once.

Auto Workers Strike Plants at All Three of the Big 3

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A group of smiling workers leave through factory turnstiles, walking towards the camera.
September 15, 2023

Tick, tock. At midnight the clock ran out, and auto workers massed on picket lines.

The first-ever simultaneous strike at the Big 3 automakers—General Motors, Ford, Stellantis—started September 15 with 13,000 workers walking out of three assembly plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri. There are 146,000 Auto Workers (UAW) members at the Big 3.

The UAW is calling its strategy the “stand-up strike,” a nod to the Flint sit-down strike of 1936-1937 that helped establish the union.

‘The Cost of Doing Nothing Is Much Higher’: Big Three Auto Workers Prepare to Strike

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A group of five auto workers pose in their union hall with blue signs that say "End Tiers," "Every Auto Job a Good Job," and "United for a Strong Contract."
September 12, 2023

Two days before their contract expires at midnight Thursday, the Auto Workers (UAW) are poised to strike the Big 3 automakers—General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis—to recoup concessions made over the past two decades, end tiers, boost wages, and fight for a shorter workweek and other quality-of-life demands.

Lessons from Lively Picket Lines

Luis Feliz Leon
Alexandra Bradbury
A crowd surrounds a large festive purple piggy-bank piñata suspended above them. It is labeled NYU and is in school colors, purple and gold.

The heat was scorching in Louisville, Kentucky, last Thursday. But what the windless day lacked in gusts, it made up in guts.

The union-made placards read: “United for a Strong Contract.” That resonated with auto workers at Ford who hadn’t been part of a contract rally for as long as anyone can remember.

And the picket line came alive when they broke away from the tedious repetition of “Who’s got the power? We’ve got the power!” and used their own chants.

Kentucky Auto Workers at Ford Are Preparing for a Strike

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A fired up crowd of about 50 holds round yellow signs saying UAW Local 862 and blue and white signs saying United for a Strong Contract and Every Auto Job a Good Job.
August 28, 2023

Five hundred Auto Workers (UAW) from Local 862 held rallies in Louisville, Kentucky, August 24 and 25, part of a wave of practice pickets and rallies around the country.

Class struggle was on everyone’s lips. A variety of issues brought them to the picket, but the auto workers there were unanimous about turbocharged wealth inequality leaving workers behind.

Fired-Up Auto Workers Are Ready to Battle the Big 3

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A young Black woman and her three children, all in red shirts, pose with UAW president Shawn Fain, a white man, also in a red shirt.
August 21, 2023

Sunday afternoon at the Auto Workers (UAW) Region 1 Pavilion in Warren, Michigan, felt a lot like church. Auto workers came together in sweltering heat to rally each other with fiery speeches, cheers, and songs in the first Big 3 contract rally anyone can remember.

The contracts with Ford, General Motors (GM), and Stellantis expire September 14.

Despite Big Teamster Wins at UPS, Some Expectations Outpace Gains

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A line of men in brown UPS uniforms and backwards hats with signs saying “Just Practicing for a Just Contract” walk by trailer trucks labeled UPS.
August 14, 2023

Some 323,000 U.S. workers have struck so far this year. Another 340,000 were in gear to strike, until their nationwide mobilization forced the company to concede. UPS Teamsters are voting on the deal through August 22.

Wage Gains at UPS Have Amazon Workers Demanding More

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A big group of men marches, carrying black-and-yellow picket signs that say: "Amazon workers on ULP strike, united for $30 an hour and safe jobs" with a Teamsters logo
August 03, 2023

Amazon warehouse worker Paul Blundell has spent the past year talking to his co-workers about how UPS Teamsters were getting organized to strike. So recently, he had big news to share: “A few days before the strike deadline, UPS caved.”

“Everybody’s jaw dropped” when they heard that night shift workers at the Philly UPS air hub will get an immediate raise to $24.75, Blundell said. “We top out around $20.90 after three years, so UPS is now starting well above that—with raises for the rest of the contract.”

UPS Teamsters ‘Just Practicing’

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Workers picket with "United for a strong contract" and "Just practicing" teamsters signs. Some wear brown UPS driver uniforms. One little kid, riding on a parent's shoulders, turns to look happily directly into the camera.
July 19, 2023

The clock is ticking on the August 1 strike deadline of 340,000 UPS Teamsters. It would be the largest strike at a private employer in decades.

“People are actually paying attention,” said delivery driver Kioma Forero, a Local 804 shop steward in New York City. Customers along her route stop her to say, “I hope your negotiations go well.” The hosts are talking about it on Hot 97, the city’s top hip-hop station.

Michigan Amazon Workers Stage Largest Delivery Station Strike Yet

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Workers (men and women, Black and white) picket outside in the sunshine. Some carry printed signs that say "Amazon workers on strike" with a Teamsters logo. One carries a hand-written sign that says "Stop the captive audience."
July 17, 2023

In the middle of Amazon’s Prime Day promotional sales rush, 60 warehouse workers walked out for more than three hours at its delivery station in Pontiac, Michigan—bringing the facility to the brink of a total shutdown.

A delivery station is the last warehouse an Amazon package passes through before it is loaded into a truck or van en route to the customer.

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