UAW Strikes At Bay View Auto Parts Warehouse

UAW worker on strike at Stellantis distribution center in Bay View. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

More than 100 workers at a Stellantis parts distribution center in Bay View walked out Friday morning as part of a wave of strikes being called by the United Auto Workers (UAW) across the country.

The strikes began Sept. 15 at three automotive plants representing each of the big three automakers: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. The union’s labor contracts had expired the day before and negotiations with the automotive companies remained ongoing.

UAW President Shawn Fain announced earlier this week that a second wave of strikes would be called at automotive properties across the U.S. if contract demands were not met. “Either the Big Three get down to business and work with us to make progress in negotiations or more locals will be called on to Stand Up and go out on strike,” he said.

UAW workers went on strike at 38 GM and Stallantis parts distribution facilities across the country Friday. Ford was excluded from this round of action after the company made concessions to some of the union’s contract demands. “To be clear: we are NOT done at Ford,” Fain said. “We still have serious issues to work through. But we do want to recognize that Ford is serious about reaching a deal.”

Workers with UAW Local 75 walked out of the parts depot at 3280 S. Clement Ave. at 11 a.m. The local plans to keep a picket going in front of the distribution center from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., mirroring the typical shift there, said Andrew Stark, a UAW international service representative. At the same time that workers were picketing up and down S. Clement Avenue, workers at a General Motors distribution center in Hudson also went on strike.

“We’re fighting for equity here, we want what’s fair, nothing more, nothing less,” Stark said. “The companies have experienced record profits and you’ve heard it many times, you’ll see it, record profits should meet a record contract.”

Rolling out a succession of strikes across the county is a departure from recent UAW strategy, Stark said. It’s being called a stand-up strike and it’s based on the historic 1937 General Motors sit-down strikes.

“It’s a slow flexing of muscles,” Stark said. “Saying ‘Hey, we can hurt you with these small number of plants and if the bad behavior continues at the bargaining table, we can make it hurt more’.”

A handful of elected officials joined the picket line for a bit Friday, including Senator Chris Larson and Representatives Christine Sinicki and Ryan Clancy. Area Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic released a statement pledging solidarity with the workers. “Bay View has long been a union neighborhood within a union town, and we have a proud history of standing behind our neighbors who fight for basic work protections and fair compensation,” said the alderwoman.

Kyle Handel, an Amalgamated Transit Union  Local 998 (ATU) board member, was at the Bay View action picketing in solidarity with the UAW workers.

The support from other labor unions and citizens has been “overwhelming,” Stark said. “I think this is a new chapter in labor history in the United States.”