We’ve Earned Respect and a Decent Contract!
American autoworkers are getting bludgeoned with threats and blackmail. When one contract grants concessions, it puts pressure on the next to continue the downward trend. Do we have to accept the spiral to third world labor standards? No!
While over the last thirty years productivity has shot up 85%, wages (taking inflation into account) have declined eight percent. Someone else is reaping the fruits of our labor. AAM is very profitable. Upper management has received outrageous bonuses.
The American auto industry isn’t moving out of the country. It's moving from union to non-union. American Axle bought an empty plant in Oxford, MI. near MSP, one of its $14 an hour plants, moved machinery from Detroit Forge and Tonawanda and started hiring at $10. They threatened to move machinery in Three Rivers to a nearby empty plant. They want to make us feel that it's hopeless to fight back, that there is nothing we can do. But that's not true.
GM is on the come back road. And if necessary, our right to strike can back up our demand for a just and fair contract. Our right to vote can send the bargainers back to the table if we don’t like what we see.
* Close the non-union Oxford, MI. plant.
* Live up to the no plant closing language.
* Fill the empty floor space in the union plants.
We can win these demands without a trade-off for concessions. Granting concessions shows weakness and only invites management to ignore the so-called job security language they negotiate.
* Maintain our wages, pensions and health care benefits.
* Eliminate two-tier with a wage-benefit bridge. Wages, health care and pensions of new hires must come up to those of the first tier. Only then will first-tier wages, health care and pensions be protected!
* No outsourcing of janitor and BRG work. Maintain the right to transfer to better jobs like crib attendant and hi-lo drivers.
* No combination of skilled trades. Promotional opportunities for production workers.
We Have the Democratic Right to Have the Final Say on the Tentative Contract
We have a right to:
1.) See the actual contract language before the vote. (The “white book” must be made available at the Locals. We need a week to look over the tentative proposal before the vote).
2.) Have observers at the ballot boxes and during the vote count to assure a fair vote.
If we don’t like what we see, we can vote it down and send the bargainers back to the table!
Shifting Gears newsletter by and for rank and file AAM workers
american-axle@googlegroups.com, 313-892-7974
