October, 02 2023, 11:33am EDT
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As UAW Strike Heats Up, Allied Groups Plan National Day of Action, Activating Members to Rally Alongside Workers
Advocates pressure Big Three to give UAW workers a fair contract and a just transition toward an EV future
Environmental, advocacy, consumer, and civil society groups, including Public Citizen, Labor Network for Sustainability, Greenpeace USA, Jobs with Justice, Sunrise Movement, Democratic Socialists of America, 350.org, Working Families Party, Evergreen Action, and Green New Deal Network, today announced plans for a national day of action on October 7, aimed at supporting striking auto workers and urging the Big Three automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis—to meet the demands of 150,000 members of the United Auto Workers (UAW).
Participating groups will rally their supporters to advocate alongside UAW members for a fair contract that protects worker rights and prioritizes workers in the United States as the vehicle fleet transitions towards electric vehicles.
“The transition to EVs must not be a race to the bottom that exacerbates harm to workers and communities,” said Erika Thi Patterson, auto supply chain campaign director for Public Citizen’s Climate Program. “We need a just transition to EVs that protects our planet and people. That’s why 130+ groups representing millions of people are ready to partner with UAW in a national day of action to stand with auto workers. The implications of this strike could drastically raise standards across the auto industry and broader supply chain.”
The national day of action, planned for October 7, 2023, will mobilize members and grassroots activists to attend active picket lines where UAW members are on strike, and to join the UAW’s nationwide “community canvass,” where advocates will offer the public informational leaflets about why they support the auto workers in front of Big Three auto dealerships.
“Now is a decisive moment in whether the Green New Deal’s promise of creating millions of good-paying, union jobs will be fulfilled–or not.” said Sydney Ghazarian, a Labor Network for Sustainability organizer who has been coordinating UAW solidarity work. “UAW’s fight for an economically and socially just EV transition is our fight too.”
“We commend UAW auto workers for bravely confronting the corporate greed of the ‘Big Three’ automakers by demanding that ‘record profits must mean record contracts’ for workers,” said Ben Smith, senior campaigner for Greenpeace USA. “Greenpeace USA is mobilizing — from our ships, to the picket lines and beyond – shoulder to shoulder with UAW members, because we believe the manufacturing of electric vehicles must deliver on the promise of safe, dependable, good paying UNION jobs across the entire supply chain.”
“The Big 3 automakers have tried to grind workers down and get away with polluting our communities for decades, and we’re proud to stand with striking UAW workers in saying enough is enough,” said Saul Levin, Legislative and Political Director at the Green New Deal Network. “The fight for living wages, benefits, and standards that auto workers and allies have fought for generations is our fight too. Union jobs with excellent working conditions are a cornerstone of the Green New Deal that we need now. We’re jazzed to mobilize alongside friends in the climate movement on October 7th to show automakers and other huge corporations that we have the backs of striking UAW workers until they win a fair contract and beyond. All workers deserve to recoup the profits they create.”
Over 130 organizations signed an open letter to the CEOs of the Big Three last week, urging them to accept the UAW’s contract demands. The letter, convened by the Labor Network for Sustainability, includes signatories such as Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace USA, Sunrise Movement, 350.org, and Mighty Earth.
The letter asserts that the transition cannot be a “race to the bottom” that further exploits workers and that the Big Three meeting UAW’s demands is crucial to ensuring a just transition to EVs. Its demands include:
- an end to the unjust tier system for workers;
- just wage and benefit increases that keep in line with the cost of living and provide a good life for workers and their communities;
- the same pay and safety standards for workers in sustainable battery production as under the National Agreements; and
- a robust, fair and just transition into the EV economy with no loss of autoworker livelihood.
Since September 15, more than 20,000 UAW members have taken part in a strike at 41 auto plants across 20 states operated by the Big Three. Negotiations to end the strike are ongoing after the companies dragged their feet during pre-strike negotiations, letting the contract expire. Each successive Friday, the UAW has announced plans to expand the strike to more strategic locations.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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"The greatest consequence of this event may turn out to be fence-sitting Democratic electeds using it as an excuse to avoid a decision on Biden," said one observer.
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Progressives on Sunday pushed back against calls from "top Democratic sources," via CBS News, who said the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump demanded that those pushing to replace President Joe Biden in the presidential race "stand down."
Sources within the Democratic Party, said CBS News correspondent Robert Costa, "believe that those Democrats who have concerns about President Biden are now standing down politically [and] will back President Biden because of this fragile political moment."
"All of that talk about the debate faded almost instantly" after one person was killed and a bullet grazed Trump's right ear at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, according to Costa.
Biden and his allies have vehemently pushed back against calls for him to step aside from lawmakers and commentators following the first presidential debate in which he struggled to deliver a coherent message about his plans for a second term and the threat posed by Trump.
Trump has led Biden in polls for months, and the debate late last month led to calls from Democrats including Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont and 19 House members for Biden to allow another Democrat—such as Vice President Kamala Harris or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer—to run in his place.
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With Trump allies including Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) openly accusing Biden of fanning the flames that led to the shooting by speaking out against the former president's anti-democratic agenda, progressive political commentary magazine Current Affairs said the assassination attempt may have "emboldened Trump and his base while Biden remains historically unpopular."
Progressive commentators including Mehdi Hasan applauded Democratic elected officials for displaying "what normal people say and do at times like this" in contrast with Trump and other Republicans' response to violence directed at Democrats such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) husband Paul Pelosi in 2022.
Last year, Trump drew laughter at an event where he asked a crowd of supporters, "How's [Pelosi's] husband doing by the way? Does anyone know?" His son, Donald Trump Jr., spread conspiracy theories about the attack just days after it happened, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was among those who mocked Pelosi shortly after he was injured.
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"The crowd was angry," he wrote. "Middle fingers were everywhere. They asked the press if they were happy and blamed the media. 'You did this,' they said to reporters."
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"A likely assassination attempt and gun violence on Trump is awful on many levels," said Pocan. "Adding jet fuel to the political climate is unbecoming of a member of Congress."
Trump, who spread baseless lies that the 2020 election was rigged against him and urged his supporters to riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 as Congress was certifying the results, has said he would act as a dictator on "day one" of his potential presidency.
Dozens of people who worked in his administration helped to write Project 2025, a far-right political agenda aimed at consolidating power with the president and dismantling parts of the federal government, and he has named political opponents he aims to prosecute and pledged to deploy the military to stop political protests.
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One audience member was killed and two were seriously injured after the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired several shots from a rooftop near Butler Farm Show, where the rally was held.
Trump was escorted off the stage after a bullet "pierced the upper part of his right ear," The New York Timesreported. The Secret Service reported that Crooks had been killed after firing his weapon, and that officials found an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle near his body.
Authorities did not identify a motive for the shooting.
Crooks was registered as a Republican in his hometown; records also showed that someone named Thomas Crooks donated $15 to a liberal voter turnout campaign called the Progressive Turnout Project in January 2021.
"This remains an active and ongoing investigation," said the FBI in a statement Sunday, as law enforcement agents closed down all roads leading to the home of the suspect's family in Bethel Park in the Pittsburgh area.
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This remains a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
Update (9:45 pm):
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Earlier:
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was reportedly in "fine" condition after being wounded in an apparent assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The former president appeared to be bleeding from near his ear as he was hurried off stage after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots were heard at the event. The Secret Service then brought him to his motorcade.
A spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that the former president was being examined at a local medical facility.
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