Ald. Dimitrijevic Stands In Solidarity With UAW Local 75 Workers on Strike Today In Bay View
Statement of Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic
Union contracts for 150,000 hardworking United Auto Workers (UAW) union employees at Ford, GM, and Stellantis/Chrysler expired on September 14. Hundreds of these workers are our neighbors and friends. UAW employees are striking across the country after exhausting other efforts to collectively bargain with their bosses for fair compensation given the revenue their hard work produces. Ford, GM and Stellantis/Chrysler have made a quarter trillion dollars in North American profits in the last ten years, and our union allies deserve to have their demands for appropriate compensation met without threats and illegal intimidation.
Instead, the big three auto manufacturers are refusing to negotiate wages with their workers at large and small longstanding auto parts factories and distributors nationwide. Chrysler’s MOPAR plant in Bay View is just one of these distribution centers. This workplace, located at 3280 S. Clement Ave. in the 14th Aldermanic District, has long employed more than 100 workers who contribute to our local economy and the fabric of our neighborhood. They are valued.
Today our Local UAW 75 neighbors will strike at this location. I pledge to stand with them and will join them on the picket line as they stand up to the shameful corporate bullying and attacks on working people nationwide. I urge you to join me, or just honk and wave in solidarity with them as you drive by.
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. Bay View workers fought and died so that ALL workers could have an eight-hour workday that affords us family time and time to engage in life activities beyond performing constant labor for low wages. We will not turn back.
I urge you to join me in standing with our local striking UAW workers. Please offer them your solidarity and support as they fight for what is fair and just at work.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.