Support Auto Workers Fighting for Fair Wages and Benefits

Target: William J. Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company

Goal: Reach a favorable deal with auto workers threatening to strike.

Over 90 years ago, the Ford Massacre helped redefine and embolden the U.S. labor movement. Striking workers of the Ford Motor Company were allegedly gunned down by both police officers and security at the plant (reportedly stirred into action by Henry Ford himself). Four men were killed and many more injured. And despite being unarmed and apparently assaulted with machine guns as they tried to retreat, it was only the surviving workers who faced any criminal charges. The United Auto Workers (UAW) would soon become one of the nation’s leading unions, successfully launching a sit-down strike that resulted in a collective bargaining agreement with holdout Henry Ford nearly a decade later. Now, this union is looking to change the game again.

Members of the UAW have voted in massive numbers to authorize a strike against the Big Three auto manufacturers: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. These profiteers, who have enacted sizeable pay raises for their executives, have dismissed the requests of the union as “unrealistic.” What are these outsized demands?…better and fairer pay, a less grueling work week, and guaranteed pensions: many of the same “unacceptable” rights that workers during the Ford Massacre fought for and that laborers in all sectors have been fighting for ever since.

Sign the petition below to join their calls for equity in the workforce.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Ford,

“Full wages for part-time workers,” “rest periods,” less stringent work schedules “without reduction in pay,” and “the right to organize”: these are just some of the principles for which Ford workers fought—and died—in 1932. Now they, along with auto workers around the nation, are fighting for the same security: the end of employment tiers, a wage hike, better work-life balance, and guaranteed benefits. Will this manufacturer rebuff the workers who make its leaders millions a week? Will it repeat history and end this latest chapter in darkness, or will it learn the lessons that its founder learned the hard way and create a collective bargaining agreement that respects the contributions of its labor force?

Please reach across the table and help end this looming strike that will deal a blow to your bottom line, the national economy, and to the American worker’s spirit.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Anonyme