In response to General Motors’ concession, amid ongoing contract negotiations, to include electric vehicle battery manufacturing plants under the master United Auto Workers (UAW) governing agreement, Evergreen Action Industry & Workforce Policy Lead Trevor Dolan released the following statement:
“General Motors’ concession today is further proof that even the mightiest corporate giants rely on their workers—and they know it. There’s no doubt that this is a momentous victory within the UAW’s strike and should be a clear signal to other manufacturers to follow suit in ongoing negotiations. There is no fair transition to a cleaner economy that leaves workers behind. Today’s news is time for celebration, but not pause. There is still much more to be done to win fair contracts for workers from the Big Three. Evergreen is heartened by the news of today’s win for workers and will continue to stand in solidarity with UAW as they fight for all that they deserve.”
As detailed in Evergreen Action’s recent memo In Solidarity With UAW: Why We Need Good Jobs in the EV Transition, the Big Three are entering into joint ventures with battery makers to build and operate electric vehicle (EV) battery plants. Automakers have taken advantage of these novel manufacturing partnerships to reclassify jobs at new facilities and evade their master governing agreements with UAW, lowering pay and working conditions for workers in the EV industry. GM’s concession is a major step forward toward combating corporate greed to ensure that green jobs can be good jobs.
