Hello again Sisters & Brothers,
We would like to invite you to a Bargaining Update meeting with VP Chuck Browning and the committee.
We will be going over the progress we’ve made, what’s left, and what comes next.
We’re getting close, folks!
We started with over 600 member demands (closer to 800, if you count how complex topics were broken down), and we’re now sitting at approximately 40 items!
When? Wednesday, April 16 (technically Thursday, April 17 for 2nd shift, because, Midnight…)
Where? A new location! The Embassy Suites Hotel 2321 Lifestyle Way Chattanooga, TN 37421
What if they call Overtime? Don’t worry, we ain’t going anywhere!
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.
What does it say about a company when almost 20% of its employees jump at the chance to get away from them for less than half a year’s pay? For less than the value of one of the cars they helped build thousands of, with their sweat and sore hands, the profits of which went into someone else’s pocket.
The people that left were our friends, some were like family, and we miss them already. But it is clear VW has been “just a job,” like any other, for all of us for way too long.
So what’s the difference between a job and a career?
A career is something you give a damn about. Good pay, good benefits, job security, a workload that doesn’t put you in a surgical suite after a couple years. A place of opportunity. Having a career means you are set.
How many people are trying to escape from TVA? From Union shops? A job is just something you do to earn enough to get by. It’s the kind of place that makes you hope your kids do better so they won’t have to work there. Because it’s demeaning, it’s dehumanizing, and it reminds you every day that you are just a number.
We can do better than that. Volkswagen can do better than that. Forming our union and bringing this contract home is the best way to change our work from jobs to careers!
There are people, both in the company and out, that want to tear things down and keep working people tired, stressed, and broke. Why? And who benefits from such an arrangement? The money goes somewhere, and not to the people that build the cars that are sold for money. Don’t ever forget that.
Our doors are always open (unlike some other “open doors”). Come visit Academy Room 510, have a conversation. This is more than a spectacle, it’s about improving our workplace, and our lives. Stay strong, be good to each other, and we will see you soon!
- Your UAW Local 42 Bargaining Committee
Here's what's at stake for us in this fight:
