Thousands of Texas autoworkers are participating in a nationwide United Automobile Workers strike, the labor union confirmed with the Signal.
More than 4,000 workers at three Dallas area facilities – two in Arlington and one in Roanoke – are joining nearly 50,000 fellow union members in a walkout demanding better wages, affordable healthcare, and the reopening of idle plants.
The autoworker’s strike is the largest by any labor organization in more than a decade, per multiple reports. More than 50 factories and parts warehouses around the country have been affected by the strike.
“Our members have been very clear about what they will and will not accept from this contract,” UAW Vice President Terry Dittes said in a Sunday statement. “We are standing up for fair wages, we are standing up for affordable, quality health care. We are standing up for our share of the profits. We are standing up for job security for our members.”
So far, negotiations are still underway. A spokesperson for the union told the Los Angeles Times that only 2 percent of the contract has been ironed out with GM executives as of Monday, suggesting that workers won’t leave the picket line anytime soon.
Photo: Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
