American Workers Are Tired Of Rich People Telling Them Things Are Fair As US Autoworkers Go On Strike

According to MSNBC, these are the United Auto Workers’ list of demands:

“In the last four years, the price of cars went up 30%. CEO pay went up 40%… No one had any complaints about that, but God forbid the workers ask for their fair share,” UAW President Shawn Fain told CNN.

One striker named Lee Maybanks, a second-generation Ford employee, told the Washington Post: “Look at UPS. UPS makes how much now? No disrespect, they deliver boxes. You know what we do? Go get one of those Bronco Raptors and turn it on. We build America.”

The public has seemingly grown tired of seeing working people not being able to afford to live. According to a recent Gallup poll, 75% of people surveyed sympathized with US Auto Workers over auto companies.

CNN / @UAW / @hasanthehun

Here’s how President Biden responded during a recent news conference: “I understand the workers’ frustration. Record corporate profits which they have, should be shared by record contracts for the UAW (United Auto Workers).”

The CEO of General Motors, Mary Barra, made things worse for herself by interviewing with CNN, where she was directly asked: “If you’re getting a 34% pay increase over four years, and you’re offering 20% to employees right now, do you think that’s fair?”

CNN /@MorePerfectUS

You can watch her full response for yourself, but in short, she used a lot of corporate media jargon to argue that it’s fair.

In response to the CEO comments, one user wrote, “Looks like Mary Barra went to the Bob Iger School of ‘I Shouldn’t Have Agreed to This Interview.’ There is nothing CEOs can say to justify massive multimillion dollar pay increases to their already bloated salaries while workers struggle to pay rent.”

CNN / @MorePerfectUS / @slack2thefuture

Another user challenged the CEO’s argument, writing: “Adding in the benefits and everything as a way to say it’s fair when you get those same benefits but a substantially larger wage…profit sharing is cool, but that does not change/improve the overall wage.”

CNN / @MorePerfectUS @IAmMrCarson

Another user wrote: “As a former PR girly I really appreciate how hot strike summer has truly laid bare how much of corporate media strategy relies on an uninformed public.”

CNN / @MorePerfectUS / Twitter: @lesliezye

Of course, not everyone is in support of the UAW strike. This was part of Senator and Republican Presidential Candidate Tim Scott’s response: “We’re seeing UAW fight for more benefits and less hours working… We have to find a way to encourage and inspire people to go back to work.”

The Majority Report With Sam Seder / @evamckend / Via youtube.com

Though the UAW strike is less than a week in, it’s evident that this strike is yet another that may be in limbo for the foreseeable future. Let us know your thoughts about the latest strike in the comments below!