(StraightNews.org) – The long-running Auto Workers Union (AWU) strike in Detroit has reached a tentative end as workers negotiated record-breaking pay increases. General Motors (GM) and UAW agreed to a deal on October 30 that would see wage rises of 33% for some and as high as 150% for others. The deal with GM was similar to agreements made with Ford and Stellantis – collectively known as Detroit’s Big Three.
UAW President Shawn Fain celebrated the victory, saying the UAW had “squeezed every last dime out of General Motors.” President Biden called the result “great” and said the record pay rises were deserved by workers who kept the industry afloat.
However, due to resulting financial pressures, the manufacturing giants say they have been forced to cut back on their commitments to produce electric cars in line with Biden’s climate change ambitions. The strike cost GM $200 million per month, and the company can no longer commit to plans to manufacture 100,000 electric vehicles (EVs) per month. Similarly, Ford has abandoned its plans to reach 2 million EVs annually by 2026.
The Detroit strikes got underway in mid-September and made global headlines when President Biden and former President Trump appeared to compete for the strikers’ attention.
On September 26, the day before Trump was due to deliver a speech to auto workers in Michigan, President Biden attempted to steal his thunder by becoming the first sitting President to attend a picket line. Through a megaphone, the President told workers that their cause was just and they deserved every dime they were asking for.
A day later, Donald Trump showed up in Detroit to a crowd of around 500 admirers, many of whom believed he was the true champion of America’s working class. One worker said, “The four years under Trump were the best years we had in the auto industry.” The former President was characteristically controversial when he told his audience they must choose between industry jobs and climate change initiatives.
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