UAW's Win Against the Big 3 Auto Manufacturers - A Statement from Cincinnati Socialists
UAW International President Shawn Fain wearing “Eat The Rich” Shirt; Photo by: UAW
Cincinnati Socialists stands in solidarity with the UAW and its members. We are proud of their fortitude and success in winning substantive contractual gains, and we must recognize the struggles they faced fighting for these material improvements. These brave fighters endured the uncertainty of future employment, loss of income, inclement weather, sneering indifference and disdain from onlookers, and even violence. The auto workers fought hard and achieved a victory that was possible only through proletarian class struggle under immense pressure from the bourgeois auto industry owners, shareholders, managers, and corporate media.
After seven long, difficult, and uncertain weeks of striking, these brave workers secured:
An end to the two-tiered wage system, created to divide and further exploit workers
78% pay increases for those still held in the bottom tier
Guaranteed 23%-25% wage increases by the contract’s end, bringing average wages up to $40.39/hour, approximately $84,000/year
Cost of living allowances to counter rising capitalist profit seeking
$0 premium and deductible healthcare plans for senior workers
Five weeks of vacation
Two weeks of paid parental leave
Recognition and time off for Juneteenth
Improved retirement benefits and security
The UAW’s wise decision to strike for better pay and benefits is already reverberating far beyond the control and influence of the “Big Three” auto companies. Non-union companies such as Toyota and Honda are already offering concessions to their workers in the hopes that doing so will avert unionization and demands for pay and benefits matching those now enjoyed by UAW workers. However, the fight against capitalist exploitation is far from over. UAW President Shawn Fain recognizes this and we applaud him for continuing to carry this struggle forward by demanding unions in other industries set their contracts to expire in 2028, thus setting the stage for a massive general strike across the U.S. which will bring us one step closer towards a workers revolution and the demise of capitalism. To quote President Fain, “We won back a vision to lead our labor movement, out of 40 years in the desert, towards an economy that works for the working class.” “Fighting and winning is contagious.”
As socialists we recognize that class struggle is the principle motive force of history--the entire history of the world is that of the battle between oppressed and oppressor. Today this battle is between the exploited working class, the proletariat, and the bourgeois, capitalist, imperialist world system, which steals the surplus labor value generated by those imprisoned in wage slavery for their own self-interest. The UAW alone cannot and should not carry this struggle forward by themselves. It is the duty of socialists, workers, and good people everywhere to carry this struggle forward by educating, organizing, and agitating for substantive material changes. Remember, “Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!”