Chanting 鈥淣o contract, no peace鈥� and 鈥淣o justice, no parts,鈥� some 60 workers at the Stellantis Chrysler Mopar Cleveland Parts Distribution Center in Streetsboro walked off the job, joining union members at 37 other General Motors and Stellantis plants in 20 states as the United Auto Workers strike ramped up on Friday.
About 60 autoworkers are striking outside the Chrysler Mopar distribution center in Streetsboro. As trucks arrive at the plant, they tell them to turn around
— Anna Huntsman (@AnnaHuntsman_)
Day shift workers wearing red UAW shirts walked off the job at noon as part of a "stand up" strike strategy, according to UAW President Shawn Fain, who said in a video Friday, the workers are seeking to 鈥渨in record contracts after years of record profits.鈥�
鈥淚t used to be a big thing that 鈥� 鈥榦h, you鈥檙e an autoworker, you鈥檙e doing well.鈥� No, we鈥檙e not,鈥� said Kelly Monegan, a scheduling coordinator who鈥檚 been with the company for nearly 26 years.
Wages through the years haven鈥檛 kept up with the cost of living, Monegan said.
Monegan is what鈥檚 known as a 鈥渓egacy employee,鈥� meaning she was hired before 2007, she said.
After facing major economic shortfalls during the Great Recession and eventually declaring bankruptcy, Chrysler 鈥� now owned by Stellantis 鈥� changed employee benefits, cut pensions and set lower wages with new employees to help stay afloat.
Employees hired after 2007 are on a 鈥渢iered鈥� pay scale 鈥� one of the key disagreements between UAW and leaders of the auto companies, Monegan said.
Monegan is especially concerned for newer hires who don鈥檛 have the pay and benefits she and her colleagues had when they were at that level.
Take, for example, Krista Burcham, a picker at the plant who was hired in 2016.
She鈥檚 frustrated with the staggered pay scale, she said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 people that worked, like, a year and a half longer than I have, and they鈥檙e making nine, 10 bucks more an hour than I am鈥� and we鈥檙e working the exact same job,鈥� Burcham said.
Burcham would like the auto companies to do away with the tiered system and bring back cost-of-living increases, as well as improve medical benefits.
Shannon Cardinale, a Local 573 member who鈥檚 worked at the Streetsboro plant for nearly 25 years, recalled supporting her daughter, who鈥檚 now an accountant, while living paycheck to paycheck in the early days, she said.
鈥淚 know that I was fortunate enough to do that, but there's a lot of people in this world that haven't, and the people who are working underneath me are never going to be able to do that. And that's not fair,鈥� Cardinale said.
About 50 of the union members striking in Streetsboro used to work at a stamping plant in Twinsburg, said member Charvis Brantley.
Chrysler closed the plant following its bankruptcy in 2010. To help offset the economic shortfalls from the recession, the union agreed at the time to give up some contractual rights and overtime rates, Brantley said, but they were told they鈥檇 get those concessions back.
That still hasn鈥檛 happened, he added.
"A lot of people think we're asking for something that we don't deserve - these are actually things that we had that we gave up so the company could keep going. A lot of people don't know that, but those are the truths,鈥� Brantley said. 鈥淲e gave up these things in concessions to keep the company going, and they don't even want to talk about it anymore."
The union is also seeking a 40% wage increase and a 32-hour work week for 40 hours of pay.
"We鈥檙e not going to wait around forever for a fair contract at the Big 3," Fain said in his Friday video. "The companies know how to make this right."
The stand up strike expands at noon today.
— UAW (@UAW)
The Streetsboro workers join union members in Toledo, Detroit and Wentzville, Missouri, who began the strike Sept. 14.
