Autoworkers
Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Committee calls for congressional investigation into Trump's coup attempt
The Faurecia Gladstone Plant Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 25 January 2021
“We demand a full public congressional investigation, as well as the arrest and prosecution of all those responsible for planning, carrying out and providing political cover for the attempt to overthrow the Constitution! We must prepare for political general strike action against these fatal threats to our democratic rights!”
Ford Motors to cut another 800 jobs in Germany
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 23 January 2021
IG Metall and its works councils have been implementing cutbacks for years.
Canadian autoworkers’ union rams through concessions-laden deal at CAMI plant after secret talks with GM
By Carl Bronski, 21 January 2021
In what can only be described as an ambush, Unifor reopened the CAMI contract behind the backs of the workers, then rammed through a rotten deal, many of whose basic details are either being concealed or are yet to be determined.
“The company and the UAW are only concerned with profits”
Stellantis revives 12-hour shifts for Sterling Heights Assembly skilled trades
By Shannon Jones, 21 January 2021
It is apparent that the earlier report by the Free Press that the 12/7 schedule had been withdrawn was deliberately misleading, aimed at buying the UAW and management a little more time to prepare a new blitz to impose the grueling 12-hour schedule.
As COVID cover-up continues
Wage theft exposed at Fiat Chrysler/Stellantis Detroit Assembly Complex
By Stephen Fuller, 19 January 2021
After receiving millions of dollars in incentives to construct a new plant in Detroit, management attempted to short pay workers on negotiated wage increases, while covering up the spread of COVID-19.
What workers need to know about the Fiat Chrysler-PSA merger
By Marcus Day, 19 January 2021
The formation of the new transnational giant marks new milestones in both the global integration of production and the protracted decline of America’s industrial dominance, while heralding intensified attacks on workers’ jobs internationally.
CAMI autoworkers should reject Unifor’s attempt to reopen contract with GM Canada!
By Carl Bronski, 16 January 2021
Unifor may try as early as this Sunday to force through a new contract, replacing that scheduled to expire this fall.
Ford shuts down operations in Brazil, destroying tens of thousands of jobs
By Brunna Machado and Tomas Castanheira, 15 January 2021
According to Ford, 5,000 workers will be laid off in Brazil, and tens of thousands more jobs directly associated with its production chain are expected to face destruction.
Ford “Finish Strong” ad campaign invokes nationalist mythology as cover for company’s “herd immunity” policies
By Tim Rivers and Tom Hall, 12 January 2021
Ford’s advertising blitz is aimed at covering up its own crimes, and those of the capitalist ruling class as a whole, with patriotic, militaristic bluster, portraying the virus as a common external enemy for the country to unite against.
Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant shut down due to part global semiconductor shortage
By Steve Filips, 11 January 2021
It is noteworthy that the plant shutdown came not in response to the spread of covid, but due to a lack of parts.
Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee in US holds first national meeting of 2021
Matthew MacEgan, 11 January 2021
The first ERFSC meeting of 2021 was attended by over 150 educators and other workers from across the US and around the globe.
Elon Musk becomes world’s richest person as pandemic death toll breaks records
By Jessica Goldstein and Tom Hall, 11 January 2021
Perhaps more than anyone else, Musk personifies the parasitic character of the corporate-financial oligarchy which dominates society.
Nineteen-year-old Chicago, Illinois auto mechanic dies of COVID-19
By William Quartermaine, 8 January 2021
Arnold Herrera had just recently been certified as a brakes and electrics specialist before succumbing suddenly to the coronavirus last weekend.
Indian Toyota workers continue strike in defiance of company-government repression
By Arun Kumar, 8 January 2021
Striking Toyota workers also face mounting pressure from the Congress and Janata Dal opposition parties, and the isolation of their struggle by the Stalinist-dominated unions.
“It’s going to take the working class to stop them”
Workers denounce Trump’s coup
By our reporters, 8 January 2021
Autoworkers, teachers, retirees and other sections of the working class reacted with outrage as fascist supporters of President Trump stormed the US Capitol Wednesday afternoon, forcibly disrupting the certification of Biden’s presidential victory.
“You tell someone you have COVID, you are in trouble”
UAW-FCA cover-up of outbreaks continues at Toledo Jeep complex
By Shannon Jones, 6 January 2021
Production at the Jeep complex went forward full throttle over the holidays while the cover-up of COVID-19 cases and intimidation of workers at the plant continued.
COVID-19 spreads at Allison Transmission auto parts plant in Indiana
By George Kirby and Marcus Day, 5 January 2021
New cases of COVID-19 have been accelerating in recent weeks at the Indianapolis, Indiana plant, according to data shared by workers.
“For corporations they are only numbers”
Two GM Silao workers in Mexico die on Christmas Eve
By Andrea Lobo, 5 January 2021
Workers have reported 13 deaths at the GM Silao Complex in Mexico to the WSWS since the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador allowed production to resume in May
Industrial murder at General Motors
Autoworker crushed to death at Marion Stamping Plant in Indiana
By Tim Rivers, 4 January 2021
Mark McKnight, a highly skilled and careful worker, was 57 years old. Everybody liked him, a co-worker commented, “the nicest guy you could ever meet.”
South Korean Kia workers approve new contract after union isolates auto struggles
By Ben McGrath, 31 December 2020
The auto companies have exploited the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to deepen their attacks on the working class.
Ford Kansas City Assembly worker dies after testing positive for COVID-19
By Marcus Day, 29 December 2020
The worker had been at KCAP over a decade and was employed by a cleaning vendor at the plant, workers said.
Fiat Chrysler forced to abandon plans for 84-hour workweeks for skilled trades at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant
By Tom Hall, 29 December 2020
The company was forced to shelve plans for a longer working week after workers took to the World Socialist Web Site to express their opposition.
Shut down the auto industry to save lives until a vaccine is available to all! Full compensation for all workers!
The Autoworker Rank-and-File Safety Committee Network, 24 December 2020
Just as no soldier wants to be the last one shot before a peace treaty, there is no justification for any further deaths to build Jeeps or F-150s while millions of people wait to be vaccinated.
At Daimler, German trade union leader calls for job cuts and increased profits
By Ludwig Weller, 23 December 2020
The big corporations and unions in the auto, supply, steel, engineering, chemical and other industries are using the Corona crisis to shed workers, intensify exploitation and prepare for trade war and all-out war.
Death toll rises to 11 at General Motors plant in Silao, Mexico
By Andrea Lobo, 23 December 2020
José Luis H., who worked in the plant’s car body area, was the last confirmed death, on December 19. The plant’s Human Resources manager, who had overseen the firing of workers for challenging the lack of protections against COVID-19, also died earlier this month.
At least five autoworkers test positive for COVID-19 at Windsor, Ontario Fiat-Chrysler plant
By Carl Bronski, 21 December 2020
While the auto bosses and Unifor union have collaborated to conceal information about the outbreaks from autoworkers, workers began sharing information among themselves about the dangerous situation.
Trade union, works council and CEO impose cost-cutting programme on Volkswagen workforce in Germany
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 21 December 2020
Representatives of the owners and trade unions at Volkswagen unanimously agreed last week to launch an initiative to take on US manufacturer Tesla. The burden of this is to be borne by the workforce—at VW itself and in the parts supplier chain.
Indiana auto parts workers support call for nationwide political general strike
Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 19 December 2020
The Rank-and-File Safety Committee at the Faurecia Gladstone plant in Columbus, Indiana, has issued a statement endorsing the Socialist Equality Party call for a shutdown of non-essential production to save lives.
GM Korea workers narrowly approve new contract
By Ben McGrath, 19 December 2020
The new contract maintains a wage freeze with no commitment from the company to maintain production in South Korea for the long term.
As it keeps them in unsafe plants
UAW lectures workers on “practicing gratitude” and keeping up “healthy habits” this Christmas
By Kathleen Martin and Tom Hall, 19 December 2020
The UAW at FCA had the audacity to post advice for its members on coping with stress during the pandemic.
“This is the catalyst”: Autoworkers support call for nationwide shutdown with full compensation
By Tom Hall, 18 December 2020
The pandemic is continuing its daily, life-threatening spread throughout the auto industry, generating growing outrage among workers and support for decisive measures to save lives.
Kia auto workers in South Korea launch week-long strike action
By Ben McGrath, 17 December 2020
Kia workers are attempting defend themselves against increased attacks by management, which is collaborating with the unions to impose wage freezes and sellout agreements.
IG Metall responds to planned closure of Daimler plant in Berlin: “The main thing is that we’re sitting at the table”
By Peter Schwarz, 15 December 2020
Production came to a standstill last week when several hundred of the 2,500 employees protested against the threatened plant shutdown.
US Justice Department shuts down UAW corruption investigation, praises union “reforms”
By Shannon Jones, 15 December 2020
The US attorney heading the five-year investigation into corruption in the United Auto Workers union joined UAW President Rory Gamble to announce the end of the federal probe while absurdly claiming the union is now free of corruption and suspicion.
South Korean Kia workers strike again as GM and union push vote on rejected contract
By Ben McGrath, 14 December 2020
The autoworkers’ struggles are continuing even though the Korean Metal Workers Union has isolated the negotiations and strikes at the three major auto companies.
Workers around the world must defend striking Indian Toyota workers from repressive government measures
By Arun Kumar, 12 December 2020
Fearful of the growing support for the monthlong strike by Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) workers in southern India, the Hindu-supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government is ramping up its attempts to criminalize the strike.
Ventra Sandusky: Vote “No” on 2020 contract! Form rank-and-file committees to oppose UAW sellout!
By The World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter, 11 December 2020
To prevent a strike and maintain the flow of profits, the United Auto Workers is attempting to impose a sellout agreement on 2,200 Ohio parts workers.
Auto companies’ stocks rise as workers die from COVID-19
By Shannon Jones, 11 December 2020
Wall Street is demanding car companies increase production to restock depleted dealer inventories, even as the pandemic is claiming a growing number of autoworkers’ lives.
Auto parts worker dies of COVID-19-induced heart attack at Faurecia plant in Saline, Michigan
By Tim Rivers, 10 December 2020
John Stamper's death is only the latest demonstration of the need for an immediate shutdown of nonessential production, including the auto industry, in order to combat the spread of the disease and save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Detroit Free Press breaks silence on Fiat Chrysler COVID-19 deaths in effort at damage control
By James Brewer, 10 December 2020
While acknowledging recent COVID-19 deaths at Detroit-area plants, both the company and the union, along with the corporate media which approvingly reports their comments, blame autoworkers for the spread of the disease in the plants.
“They are not alone in this”
US autoworkers speak in support of strikes in South Korea and India
By Shannon Jones, 9 December 2020
US autoworkers have extended support to fellow workers at Kia and General Motors in South Korea and Toyota workers in India who are facing increasing threats as they fight for decent pay and working conditions.
Autoworkers in Mexico unmask AMLO’s promise of “union democracy”
By Andrea Lobo, 9 December 2020
The testimonies of autoworkers expressed the growing understanding among Mexican workers that voting for new trade union leaders or creating new trade unions within the framework of the capitalist legal setup are a dead end.
Seeking to stave off demands for industry shutdown, UAW to host COVID-19 testing site in Louisville, Kentucky
By Steve Filips, 8 December 2020
The UAW’s move is in part aimed at shortening the time workers are away from production while awaiting test results.
Karnataka chief minister plots with company to smash strike by Indian Toyota workers
By Arun Kumar, 8 December 2020
An article in the Economic Times cited a source who explained that the government could prosecute workers for obstructing manufacturing activity at the plant.
“It could have been prevented”
Sixth worker dies from COVID-19 at FCA’s Warren Truck plant
By James Brewer and Marcus Day, 7 December 2020
Warren Truck has been the deadliest plant among the Detroit Three’s factories in the US during the pandemic, based on the limited data available on workers’ deaths.
New surge of COVID-19 cases at GM Fort Wayne amid reports of expanding outbreaks at other factories
By Shannon Jones, 4 December 2020
There have been 21 new confirmed COVID-19 cases so far this week at the GM Fort Wayne, Indiana truck plant, while management has been seeking to withhold income from infected workers.
At Germany’s “Auto Summit,” IG Metall backs major corporations in international trade war
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting and Ulrich Rippert, 4 December 2020
The IG Metall trade union is playing the key role on behalf of German auto companies in the international trade war.
UAW keeping workers at Ohio Ventra parts plant on the job without contract during pandemic
By Zac Thorton, 3 December 2020
Forced to continue working under a contract which expired in July, workers at the parts plant are reaching their breaking point as UAW maintains silence over negotiations.
Indian Toyota workers continue month-long strike against speedup
By Arun Kumar, 2 December 2020
Over 3,000 workers at two Toyota Kirloskar Motor-owned car assembly plants in Bidadi are continuing a four-week-long strike in defiance of the state government’s back-to-work order.
Strikes by Kia and GM workers continue in South Korea
By Peter Symonds, 2 December 2020
The strikes are part of far broader discontent, anger and unrest among auto workers internationally over job losses, deteriorating conditions and the health threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Faurecia parts workers launch Rank-and-File Safety Committee in Saline, Michigan
Faurecia Saline Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 2 December 2020
Autoworkers in Saline, like their brothers and sisters at Faurecia Gladstone in Indiana, join a national network of rank-and-file committees that is fighting for a complete shutdown of the auto industry with full compensation for workers.
“Are any of these trucks worth any of our brothers and sisters dying?”
COVID-19 cases explode at GM Fort Wayne as UAW abets cover-up
By Shannon Jones, 1 December 2020
Management memos obtained by the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter document 50 cases in the plant between November 6 and November 23. Eleven cases were reported November 20 alone, indicating the rate of infection is increasing.
“GM’s one of the biggest liars out there”
GM Fairfax worker speaks out over management-UAW cover-up of COVID-19 spread
By James Tatsch, 1 December 2020
The coronavirus has been surging across Kansas and Missouri, with both states recording their highest totals over the proceeding days with no sign of abating.
FCA ramps up production at Warren Truck despite death of temporary worker from COVID-19
By James Brewer, 28 November 2020
The worker who succumbed to the virus had been hired less than three weeks before he became sick and had told his coworkers that he had waited a long time to get the chance for a job at FCA.
Company Town: a damning look at the role of Unifor in the GM Oshawa plant closure
By Lee Parsons, 28 November 2020
The film follows events from the time of the closure announcement in November, 2018 until the final day of production a year later.
What UAW President Rory Gamble is really thankful for this Thanksgiving
By Jerry White and Tom Hall, 26 November 2020
Few, if any, workers will read the trite and clichéd Thanksgiving message from United Auto Workers President Rory Gamble, published Wednesday on the UAW's web site. But it is worth mentioning for its sheer hypocrisy.
Workers have the right to information and free speech!
What’s behind the UAW’s attack on the World Socialist Web Site
The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 24 November 2020
While it is telling workers to shut up and keep working, the UAW has pulled its own stewards from the plant floor, and Solidarity House is still working remotely.
A month after being hired at suburban Detroit Fiat Chrysler plant, worker dies from COVID-19
By George Kirby, 24 November 2020
Stevie Brown, a temporary part-time worker at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant, is the latest victim of the murderous policy of keeping the factories open even as they have become a major vector in the spread of the deadly disease.
As demands for work stoppage grow, UAW officials tell Sterling Heights Assembly workers: “Don’t read the WSWS”
By Shannon Jones, 23 November 2020
In the face of growing demands by Fiat Chrysler workers to halt production at the Sterling Height Assembly Plant to stop the spread of COVID-19, local United Auto Workers officials are lashing out at the World Socialist Web Site and rank-and-file workers who have turned to the WSWS to expose the deadly conditions at the suburban Detroit auto factory.
With COVID-19 spreading through auto plants, workers report death at FCA Warren Truck Assembly Plant
By George Kirby, 23 November 2020
The death, if confirmed, is the outcome of a massive outbreak in the plant, reported by several workers to the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter. According to one worker, eight teams with six to eight workers each have been sent home due to the virus since September 28.
Backed by the union, Mercedes plans to close its oldest factory in Berlin
By Ludwig Weller, 23 November 2020
For many decades, every corporate decision affecting the workforce made at Marienfelde and all other Mercedes factories has been discussed beforehand with the works councils, which then develop strategies for their implementation.
Explosion at Faurecia Gladstone auto parts plant in Indiana injures three
By Tim Rivers, 21 November 2020
A forklift driver injured in the blast was airlifted to a burn unit at a hospital in Indianapolis, 40 miles north.
Former UAW VP Joe Ashton gets wrist-slap prison term as workers confront rampant COVID-19 in auto plants
By Shannon Jones, 21 November 2020
Ashton, who pocketed $250,000 in kickbacks, is being sent to a country club prison with a seven-month delay for COVID-19 while workers are forced to confront the exploding pandemic every day in the factories.
“There has to be a complete shutdown, that is the only way to get things under control”
Support builds among autoworkers for emergency action as pandemic spreads throughout factories
By Shannon Jones, 20 November 2020
Autoworkers are speaking out with increasing outrage over the efforts of the auto companies and the United Auto Workers union to continue production at all costs.
Toyota workers in India continue strike, defy state back-to-work order
By Shibu Vavara and Arun Kumar, 20 November 2020
Behind the state government’s strikebreaking order is the broader aim of the ruling class to make India a cheap-labor alternative to China.
Growing support among workers for shutdown of nonessential production as US death toll tops 250,000
By Jerry White, 19 November 2020
Anger among workers is boiling over as corporations keep operating even though COVID-19 infections are spreading uncontrollably throughout factories and other workplaces.
Faurecia auto parts workers join calls for national shutdown to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives
By Tim Rivers, 18 November 2020
Workers at the Faurecia plant in Saline, Michigan, southwest of Detroit, contacted the World Socialist Web Site over the weekend to expose the way in which their company suppresses information about the spread of disease.
Situation critical as COVID-19 spreads through US auto plants
By Shannon Jones, 18 November 2020
Workers are daily reporting the spread of COVID-19 cases in auto plants, with an apparent major outbreak now reported at the Ford Avon Lake, Ohio facility.
Biden recruits unions to keep workplaces open as pandemic surges
By Jerry White, 18 November 2020
Biden held an online discussion Monday with top executives from GM, Microsoft and other corporations, along with the leaders of the AFL-CIO, the United Auto Workers and other unions.
End the coverup of the outbreak at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant! Stop nonessential production with full pay for workers to contain the pandemic!
The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 18 November 2020
All non-essential production must stop to contain the current outbreak, which is on pace to be even worse than in the spring.
As COVID-19 spreads in workplaces, US autoworkers call for emergency action to save lives
By Shannon Jones, 17 November 2020
US auto plants have become major vectors for the spread of COVID-19, yet auto executives, the UAW union and government officials at every level are determined to continue full production no matter what the cost to life.
Auto parts company ordered to pay $1.5 million following death of Alabama worker
By Aaron Murch, 16 November 2020
Ajin, a Korean parts manufacturer, was ordered to pay over a million dollars in fines and settlements after a 20-year-old contract worker was killed after safety procedures were blatantly ignored.
“If Whitmer were really concerned about COVID-19, she would never have allowed manufacturing to re-open”
Sterling Heights Assembly workers demand shutdown as coronavirus spreads in factories throughout US
By Tom Hall, 16 November 2020
Michigan’s governor announced new lockdowns exempting manufacturing, while new signs emerged of major outbreaks at Fiat Chrysler’s Sterling Heights assembly and stamping plants and other Detroit-area factories.
Auto parts worker crushed by massive manufacturing mold at plant north of Detroit
By Valery Tsekov, 14 November 2020
Forty-two year old worker David Spano died Tuesday after a massive manufacturing mold fell on him at Romeo RIM in suburban Detroit.
Corporate damage control: Detroit News parrots management, UAW lies about COVID safety conditions at US auto plants
By Shannon Jones, 14 November 2020
The piece is a shameless attempt at damage control as the real situation, which is being documented by the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter, is spiraling out of control.
Workers’ lives are worth more than corporate profits!
Workers must stop production to contain coronavirus outbreak at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant!
The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 14 November 2020
At least one worker, Mark Bianchi, is already dead, a relative confirmed recently on Facebook, and the United Auto Workers union has pulled virtually all of its shop stewards from the floor, pointing to an outbreak potentially without precedent in the US industry.
“COVID-19 is out of control at the Tipton plant”
Workers report dangerous outbreak at Fiat Chrysler transmission factory in Indiana
By Jerry White, 13 November 2020
Workers are reporting an outbreak of COVID-19 which is being covered up by FCA management and the United Auto Workers union.
Workers’ lives are not expendable! Take action to stop the COVID-19 pandemic!
By Marcus Day, 12 November 2020
Rank-and-file safety committees must be expanded and organized to prepare walkouts to shut down non-essential plants, warehouses and other workplaces.
Coronavirus spreading out of control at Sterling Stamping Plant: A case study of infections in the US auto industry
The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 11 November 2020
There have been at least 26 infections in the plant since March, and infections are rising far faster in the plant than in the surrounding community.
GM Canada contract ratification ends 2020 negotiations at Detroit Three’s Canadian operations
By Carl Bronski, 11 November 2020
Unifor has functioned as nothing more than a cheap labour contractor, offering up current and future autoworkers to be ruthlessly exploited for the profit interests of the Detroit Three transnational auto giants.
As GM moves to expand production at Oshawa, Ontario facility UAW promotes anti-Canada nationalism
By Shannon Jones, 10 November 2020
Local UAW leaders have expressed opposition to GM plans to expand production of its best selling Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks in Canada, seeking to stoke animosity toward Canadian autoworkers.
Auto parts workers demand full disclosure as COVID-19 cases surge at Indiana Faurecia plant
Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 10 November 2020
We demand that the company and the IBEW union make public all information, including dates and locations of cases, on the spread of the coronavirus in the plant.
Illinois governor admits factories and other workplaces are center of COVID-19 outbreaks
By Kristina Betinis, 9 November 2020
The list of infected workplaces, which state officials have concealed from the public, includes those owned by Amazon, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Tyson Foods, UPS and other giant corporations.
Canadian autoworkers’ union announces tentative agreement with General Motors
By Carl Bronski, 7 November 2020
Unifor President Jerry Dias touted GM’s commitment to restart assembly production in Oshawa, but avoided mentioning that the new jobs will be filled almost entirely by low-wage, second-tier workers with vastly inferior rights.
Indian Magna Cosma workers continue strike against victimisation and for recognition of new union
By Shibu Vavara and Sasi Kumar, 6 November 2020
The strikers are challenging the Canadian conglomerate’s super exploitation of a multi-tier workforce, with just 75 permanent workers alongside 350 contract workers and 200 trainees.
UAW-GM Center for Human Resources, corporatist body at the center of union corruption scandal, sold for $34 million
By Shannon Jones, 6 November 2020
The Center for Human Resources and other joint program centers, funded with millions of dollars in corporate cash, epitomized the role of the UAW as a corporatist appendage of the auto companies.
Autoworkers demand to know: How extensive is the outbreak at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant?
The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 4 November 2020
The committee has independently confirmed two separate outbreaks on opposite sides of the plant, suggesting a larger outbreak may be underway.
“The WSWS has not only commented on the struggles of the working class it has been an active participant in them”
By Jerry White, 2 November 2020
In the vast archive of the WSWS, the working class will find the most critical lessons from the history of the global class struggle and an international socialist perspective needed to conduct its fight against world capitalism today.
As US smashes records for new coronavirus infections, Ford and Fiat Chrysler report blowout profits
By Shannon Jones, 30 October 2020
North American automakers built 4.1 million vehicles in the third quarter, the same number as last year.
“The plant is a powder keg”
Fiat Chrysler covered up dozens of infections and two deaths at Jefferson North Assembly Plant
By Shannon Jones, 23 October 2020
According to a leaked report, there have been about 60 COVID infections at the FCA Jefferson North plant and at least two workers have died since May.
GM announces new investments in electric vehicles as job cuts loom
By Jessica Goldstein, 23 October 2020
General Motors announced a major $2 billion investment plan to build electric vehicles at six US plants last week, stating that the investment will not include new jobs.
GM victimizes Mexican worker for quarantining after catching COVID-19
By Andrea Lobo, 22 October 2020
After 26 years working for GM, Sergio Contreras was fired after he quarantined, challenging the efforts of the corporation to cover up COVID-19 outbreaks and continue production.
Canadian autoworkers’ union rams through job-cutting agreement with Fiat-Chrysler despite strong worker opposition
By Roger Jordan, 21 October 2020
Behind all the hype about jobs “saved,” Unifor is conspiring with the automakers and Canadian and Ontario governments to once again restructure the auto industry at workers’ expense.
Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee demands two-week shutdown to stop coronavirus spread
Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 20 October 2020
In response to the emergence of a new cluster of coronavirus cases at the factory last week, the Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee, founded in August to oppose the spread of the contagion, inhumane working conditions and the systematic victimization of whistleblowers, has issued the following statement.
As safety protocols vanish, Fiat Chrysler advises workers “protect your pets from COVID”
By Shannon Jones, 19 October 2020
Management advises workers to protect their pets from COVID-19 as it junks safety measures.
New cluster of COVID-19 hits Faurecia Gladstone factory in Columbus, Indiana
By Tim Rivers, 16 October 2020
In spite of stonewalling by management, auto parts workers have been able to verify the infections of at least five individuals, including equipment drivers who move throughout the plant.
Unifor deal gives FCA Canada green light to cut jobs
By Roger Jordan, 16 October 2020
The three-year deal accepts the shrinking of the workforce in Windsor and fails to secure jobs for 3,400 workers in Brampton beyond 2023.
After rejecting UAW-backed contract, Ventra workers in Ohio press for strike
By J. Cooper, 15 October 2020
Auto parts workers at the Flex-N-Gate subsidiary have consistently rejected the concessions made by the UAW Local 1216 leadership since negotiations began in late July.
Growing opposition among Canadian autoworkers to Unifor’s concessions-laden Detroit Three “pattern” contract
By our reporters, 14 October 2020
Unifor’s withholding of key contract information from Ford workers, including its acceptance of gruelling and wage-cutting Alternative Work Schedules, has triggered outrage among workers at the Detroit Three’s Canadian operations.
Restore the Eight Hour day!
Faurecia Gladstone workers oppose 12-hour shifts at FCA Sterling Heights Assembly
The Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 13 October 2020
Autoworkers rank-and-file safety committees are teaming up across the country to restore the eight-hour work day, to oppose forced overtime, and to oppose the unchecked spread of COVID-19.
Follow the WSWS