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Consider This from NPR

How Concerns Over EVs are Driving the UAW Towards a Strike

Consider This from NPR

NPR

Society & Culture, Daily News, News, News Commentary

4.26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 September 2023

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The president of the United Auto Workers says the union is planning to carry out sudden, strategic and partial strikes at plants should contract talks with Detroit's Big Three automakers fail ahead of a contract deadline on Thursday night.

UAW President Shawn Fain also held out the possibility of an all-out strike in the future of the nearly 150,000 union members.

In addition to concerns over pay, workers are worried about what electric vehicles mean for their future.

NPR's Camila Domonoske reports on how the transition to electric vehicles has many autoworkers concerned about their job security.

And Senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith reports on why the UAW hasn't endorsed President Biden for re-election in 2024.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

President Biden is known for being a union guy and a car guy.

0:10.9

He's talked about it a lot throughout his presidency.

0:13.7

Automanifaction is large, better middle class career, with good pay that you could raise

0:19.3

a family on.

0:20.3

Well, that's not going to change on my watch.

0:23.4

That's President Biden speaking at Sheet Metal Workers' Local 19 Training Center in Philadelphia

0:28.2

on Labor Day.

0:29.2

Yet he's been mute on contract talks between the United Auto Workers and Detroit car makers.

0:35.4

The two sides are at odds over the state of contract negotiations, and if they don't

0:39.8

reach an agreement by 11.59 pm on Thursday, the UAW could strike any time after midnight.

0:48.1

Now what Biden did say to reporters on Labor Day is that he doesn't think the strike

0:53.3

will happen.

0:54.4

UAW President Sean Fain spoke on CNBC last week and he says a strike is on the table.

1:00.0

I think our strike can reaffirm to him of where the working class people in this country

1:04.8

stand.

1:05.8

And you know, it's time for politicians in this country to pick aside either you stand

1:10.2

for a billionaire class where everybody else gets left behind or you stand for the working

1:14.4

class.

1:15.4

UAW represents 150,000 workers at major car companies.

1:20.0

Workers are asking for a 40% wage increase.

1:23.6

And to those who argue 40% is too big a jump, the union says, look at the money executives

1:28.6

earn.

...

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