November 18, 2023
On September 29, NAFCON President Nerissa Allegretti was at the picket line in solidarity with UAW strikers at the Chicago Ford Assembly Plant.
Workers first walked off the job on September 15, when the union’s previous contract expired. A unique strategy known as a “standup strike,” threw precedence out the window, allowing the union to add factories to its action based on results at the bargaining table — all while only slowly dipping into its strike fund.
The targeted strike with the “standup strike” strategy started on September 15 in the assembly plants of Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri.
On October 7, NAFCON along with other progressive Filipino organizations joined the rally at the UAW union hall in Chicago.
At the rally, KMU Chairman and Philippine Labor Leader Elmer Labog, who was visiting the US on a speaking tour, was able to speak at the rally together with the Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson, the UAW International President Shawn Fain, the AFA CWA President Sara Nelson, the CTU President Stacy Davis-Gates, UAW Regional Director Brandon Campbell and Chicago UAW President Chris Pena.
The UAW launched a targeted strike against the Big 3 US Automakers ( Ford Motors Corporation, General Motors and Stellantis) in the early hours of September 15. On October 25, UAW announced a deal with Ford Motors, October 28 with Stellantis, and General Motors on October 30.
At its height, the strike included more than 40 facilities and some 46,000 workers.
As a health worker for over 20 years, Allegretti concluded by saying “indeed the targeted and stand up strike strategy was successful but what nailed it was the workers determination to fight, because when ‘when we fight, we win'”.
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