There was almost glee in the Detroit News headline about the UAW rank and file members planning to protest their own leadership in today’s Labor Day parade in Detroit, which took place this morning.
I only read the first few paragraphs last night, but as I headed out to the parade, I had no idea what the protest was about. The News reporter was more interested in recapping the feds’ corruption probe of the UAW.
As I joined the parade on Michigan Avenue, already in progress, I saw a woman with a sign urging the UAW to end tier pay. And then I thought of course that’s what it’s about: companies wanting to pay employees as little as possible, and the union leadership standing up for their members’ rights. Or not quite, in the case of the UAW.
After the parade, downloading and editing the photos, I finished reading Breana Noble’s News article; she doesn’t mention Brian Keller, who plans to run again for UAW president, until the fourth paragraph.
And it isn’t until further down that the article gives any real sense of what the grievance is about:
The protest was organized after Keller and other like-minded activists, including Omar Guevara, a line worker at General Motors Co.'s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, received hundreds of messages from auto workers following Wednesday's raids.
"It was a tipping point for many," said Guevara, 45, of Clio. "We’ve lost and lost throughout the years. We've lost our pensions, (certain retiree) healthcare benefits, we’ve lost jobs, our plants have relocated, we have the creation of multiple (wage) tiers. Then, union leadership appoints themselves a 33% pay raise. [The rank and file UAW members are] sick of it."
For right-wing nuts, this would seem to confirm all the worst things said about unions. Those nuts fail to understand that without unions, even unions with crooked leadership, we would all be worse off, including people not in unions.
And the UAW members can, in theory, cast off their crooked leadership, though the process might be as difficult as impeaching and permanently removing Trump from the White House.
Keller also called for members to work within their locals to demand a special convention to remove leaders, including [UAW President] Gary Jones and UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada, who also is under investigation. Neither have been charged.
Article 8 Section 4 for of the UAW constitution allows members to initiate a special convention with a written request from at least 15 locals in five states or provinces that represent no less than 20% of the UAW’s total membership. At that point, a vote would be held on whether to have a special convention for the reason the locals described, and a majority of the union's members must approve it to hold one. The same delegates from the most recent constitutional convention — in this case, those who elected Jones and other international leaders in June 2018 — would represent their locals at a special convention.
Article 30 allows a local union member to sign a written affidavit that is endorsed by the member's own local and at least 10 additional locals to initiate a trial against an international leader. A 12-member trial committee made of delegates from the most recent convention would hear both sides. A two-thirds majority could find the accused guilty. Another two-thirds majority would be needed to remove an official from office.
Efforts toward this end have begun, Guevara and Keller said. They declined to provide specifics for fear of disruption by the international organization.
I had to seek out other articles for an explanation of the UAW’s two-tier system. In a nutshell: UAW members hired at Ford after 2007 have to work for more years than those hired before 2007 to get to the top tier of wages.
So at any given Ford plant, you might have several workers earning at the top tier and several workers earning at the lower tier who would be earning more if only they had been hired before 2007.
I’m not exactly sure if the two-tier system is also in effect at Fiat Chrysler's Sherwood distribution center, where Keller works. Keller was at the parade with a sign that reads “Elect Brian Keller for UAW President.”
At least three UAW members carried signs that read “I ❤ My UAW Brothers and Sisters, Not The Admin Caucus That Steals From Us.” After the UAW, the biggest presence was probably that of the carpenters and millwrights.
Also marching in the parade: nurses, musicians (including Detroit Symphony musicians), actors and letter carriers. The letter carriers carried signs reading “Don’t Dismantle America’s Postal Service.”
Shri Thanedar was at the parade and no one seemed to care. Shri who? Shri Thanedar, who ran for Michigan governor last year. Thankfully Gretchen Whitmer (D) won the primary and went on to beat then-Lt. Gov. Brian Calley (R-Michigan) in the general election.
I didn’t see Whitmer this year, but I figured she’d probably decide to spend Labor Day in a different part of the state. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist was in Detroit this year, though, with his kid once again on his shoulders.
Even the Roving Anti-Trump Bandwagon guy got more interest than Thanedar, and that guy was selling anti-Trump buttons, not giving them away.
When Rashida Tlaib’s party neared Cobo Center, I saw a marked contrast of enthusiasm. By the way, the Cobo Center has been renamed TCF Center, after TCF Bank. Is it better for the place to be named for a racist mayor or for a bank? I’m not sure...
Thanedar apparently hoped someone would recognize him. If he’s got any fortune left, I can suggest better uses for it than trying to run for governor again.
When people saw Tlaib’s banner, they eagerly asked “Where is she!?” Rep. Tlaib (D-Michigan U. S. House District 13) was almost hidden in her entourage, and when she started waving at the public, they enthusiastically waved back.
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) was at the parade last year but I didn’t see her this year. I certainly didn’t expect Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) to be in Detroit for the Labor Day parade, though his supporters made a very good showing.
I think I missed the head of the parade. It seemed to be broken up into three waves, with breaks long enough that I could have gone into the TCF Center for a water fountain and restroom. I did go in, but only after the parade was over. The restrooms were where I expected them to be, but I had to search for a water fountain.
Reportedly current UAW President Gary Jones marched in the parade, presumably from the beginning, but left shortly before reaching the end of the route because of another commitment, according to an UAW spokesman.
UAW members probably have a few guesses as to what that other commitment might have been.
I hope y’all had a nice Labor Day. It is worth repeating that we have to thank the unions for the 3-day Labor Day weekend, and indeed for all weekends.