Anger persists among Volvo workers following UAW claims of narrow contract ratification
Anger continues to simmer among Volvo workers at the New River Valley plant in southwestern Virginia following the United Auto Workers union’s declaration Wednesday night that a re-vote of a contract workers had rejected last week resulted in ratification by a margin of just 17 ballots.
Workers striking outside of the New River Valley plant in Dublin, Virginia [Credit Facebook//UAW Local 2069]
Many workers have responded with accusations of ballot fraud and calls for a recount, which the UAW has thus far met with total silence. The re-vote on a third tentative agreement between the UAW and Volvo had been called by the union in defiance of workers’ previous rejection of the very same deal just a few days earlier by 60 percent.
Wisconsin Examiner
American Jobs Plan presents opportunity to rebuild Wisconsinâs manufacturing, labor, environmental legacy
FLINT, MI - OCTOBER 13: United Auto Workers union members and their families rally near the General Motors Flint Assembly plant on Solidarity Sunday on October 13, 2019 (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
It seems like these days you canât throw a rock without hitting a vacant manufacturing facility in Wisconsin. For generations, manufacturing jobs kept money in the wallets and food on the tables of working families across the state. But in recent years that legacy has been threatened. Offshoring, a lack of government investment and weak procurement policies to ensure weâre using American materials to build up our infrastructure have been chipping away at our stateâs economy and at the very livelihoods of blue collar Wisconsinites in communities from Milwaukee to La Crosse.
General Motors’ profit fell 4.5% in 2020, but a strong second half more than offset the effects of pandemic-related factory closures and a costly air bag recall. Buyers bought more expensive trucks and SUVs and loaded them with options.