As autoworker militancy mounts, UAW issues “strike notice” to Fiat Chrysler
The United Auto Workers informed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) management Tuesday that it will cancel the extended labor contract with the company and could call a strike if no new agreement is reached before 11:59 PM Eastern Time tonight (October 7).
The strike notice is the latest in a series of improvisations carried out by the UAW following last week’s landslide “no” vote on a deal that was supported by both the union and FCA management. The UAW did not expect, let alone desire, the rejection of its sellout agreement. It is now in evident disarray, casting about for a policy and not quite sure how to proceed.
The UAW reported a tentative agreement with the auto company on September 15, only one day after it announced that it was selecting FCA as the target company. There were no negotiations in the traditional sense of the term. The UAW was presented with a contract that had been drawn up by the company, which it assumed it could simply force through in shotgun votes before workers could consider what they were voting on.
These plans were disrupted when the workers intervened. Opposition was organized through Facebook and other social media, with the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter playing a central role in providing workers with information on the contract and countering the lies of the company and the UAW.
Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/10/07/auto-o07.html
