Dozens of senators unveil resolution highlighting solidarity with striking autoworkers

Dozens of senators unveiled a resolution in solidarity with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which is approaching its fifth week striking against three major automakers.

Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) along with 31 other colleagues introduced a resolution Thursday calling for the Detroit automakers to negotiate in good faith and offer workers a fair contact.

The resolution is backed by one GOP senator: Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.

“For too long, CEOs and corporations have benefited at the expense of the hardworking Americans who build and power our Nation,” Casey wrote in a statement Thursday. “The Big 3 must come to the table with an offer that reflects that workers in Pennsylvania and across the Nation deserve.”

“UAW workers made sacrifices to save the American auto industry. Now the Big 3 are making record profits — all workers are asking for is their fair share,” Brown added.

The three Democratic senators said they have joined the picket lines with the UAW, which began its historic strike against the three major Detroit automakers — Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis — last month.

The union is demanding wage increases, cost-of-living pay raises, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, union representation of workers at new battery plants and the restoration of traditionally defined pensions for new hires.

The UAW has justified these wage demands by pointing to CEO pay raises in recent years, which have all reportedly surpassed at least $13 million.

“Whereas the Big Three automakers are providing their Chief Executive Officers with exorbitant compensation packages while autoworkers continue to fall further and further behind,” according to the resolution.

The union has also expressed concerns over the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles (EVs), which they say puts autoworkers’ jobs at risk.

UAW members initially began picketing at one assembly plant from each company, but they have since expanded to 38 parts warehouses at GM and Stellantis in hopes of adding pressure on manufacturers. The UAW later added another assembly plant at both GM and Ford.

Last week, around 8,700 workers walked out at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville — Ford’s largest and most profitable plant — where F-250 and F-550 trucks are built along with some SUVs. The union said this came after Ford refused to negotiate further bargaining demands.

President Biden also joined the UAW’s picket lines late last month, marking the first time a sitting president has done so. Standing with workers at UAW Local 174 in Michigan, Biden told the workers they deserve “a hell of lot more” than what they’re being paid.