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Record Profits, Paltry Contracts Fire Up Chicago-Area Autoworkers to Strike
By Maia McDonald - In These Times, September 25, 2023
BOLINGBROOK, ILL. — Mary Greene, a second-generation General Motors worker who’s been at GM’s Chicago Parts Distribution Center since 2013, jumps up to cheer and dance with her “UAW — On Strike” sign as cars and freight trucks drive by. Greene tries to say, “Thank you!” or lift her hand in acknowledgment to every passing supporter who raises fist or honks in solidarity.
This Sunday, on a winding stretch of Remington Blvd. opposite quiet pond surrounded by factories and warehouses, a handful of members of United Auto Workers Local 2114 picketed. Workers at the Bolingbrook warehouse have been on strike since Friday after being among the more than 5,000 United Auto Workers members at 38 parts distribution centers tapped by UAW President Shawn Fain to walk off the job in the union’s fight for a new contract with better pay, increased retiree benefits and other demands.
The UAW’s “stand-up strike” strategy involves union leaders selecting small numbers of local unions to strike at a time, as opposed to calling for a nationwide strike as they work toward a new contract with “The Big Three” auto manufacturers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
Greene, parts technician who also walked out alongside her coworkers in 2019 during the nationwide General Motors strike, when 46,000 GM autoworkers struck for over a month, says that this time around, she’s hoping for a better, quicker outcome.
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