Strong rank-and-file opposition to UAW sellout evident at local meetings

The tentative contract means the destruction of virtually all of the gains won by generations of auto workers. If ratified, it will have catastrophic consequences for active, retired and future Big Three workers.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has traded the wages, pensions, health benefits and jobs of UAW members for the right to control a multibillion-dollar VEBA trust fund and make himself and his cronies millionaires.

The fact that not one local president voted against the agreement comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed the UAW. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that from the standpoint of the workers’ interests, the UAW is dead and cannot be revived.

Rejection of the contract is only the first step. Auto workers should take the struggle out of the hands of the UAW by electing rank-and-file committees to re-launch the strike and formulate demands that defend workers’ jobs, living standards and working conditions. An appeal should be made to Ford, Chrysler and Delphi workers to join this fight, and to auto workers in Canada, Latin America, Asia and Europe who are facing attacks by the same global auto giants.