Oakland Workers and UAW Stand Up to Commission on Contractual Demands
Oakland, Michigan – In what was not by any means planned, the UAW organizers marched together with government workers from this county to a Commissioners meeting to make their demands known. They were many, and they were united; you could see it in their strength and in their numbers.
On the agenda? Contract negotiations. The workers, who proudly represent UAW, are calling for fair contracts. We heard a woman in a crowd, raising her voice in determination, saying how UAW is going beyond the conventional and forcing people to make an effort for their endorsements. “Equal treatment is what we expect, nothing less,” she added.
The UAW, known for its representative role for assembly line blue-collar workers in our automobile industry, also stands with many of our public sector employees. The government workforce across various departments of Oakland, close to a whopping 1,000 strong, is backed by the UAW. They’ve been in talks about a raise in pay since the beginning of summer.
UAW Local 889’s 2nd VP, a man who goes by the name of Joe, explains this. “We’ve got people in public health, people handling elections and finance, even animal control and assessing. We represent folks all across this county government, 860 to be precise.”
Joe points out that the cost of living should be given its due consideration. “Our employees have found themselves 7 and a half percent behind the inflation rate”, he said. “Groceries, restaurant meals, and everything else, costs are increasing.
The day ends, and workers in their bold red Union shirts line up. They head to the auditorium, fill it to capacity, and attend the meeting. The board members, however, are only there to listen and take notes – they aren’t yet ready to make any decisions regarding the contracts.
We received word from an executive named Dave from the Oakland County administration. “We believe we already put out a fair and generous offer and are quite disappointed to see it hasn’t led to an agreement. However, we will go on negotiating with the UAW to make sure we can show how much our employees and the work they do for our residents mean to us, within our budget’s constraints.”
