ON-THE-GROUND Day 3 of UAW Strike: Joy, Pain, Fury

"We need good pay for our families; our workers, we produce great quality, good products and we can't even afford the products," teary-eyed Ford worker tells Jordan Chariton

Hey folks, it’s Jordan.

I write this before heading out to cover Day 3 of the UAW strike against Ford, Stellantis, and GM. At the Ford plant picket lines in Wayne Michigan yesterday, I spoke with over a dozen workers. Our paying members are making this ON-THE-GROUND reporting possible—but we need to grow our paid membership to continue. Can you sign up as a member today for $5-10 bucks a month?

One of the interviews from yesterday really stood out:

“We need good pay for our families,” John Tavana, a Ford worker for 11 years, said while getting emotionally choked up and holding back tears. “We produce great quality, good products and everything else. We can't even afford the products.”

As things stand now, I’m hearing UAW is furthest along in negotiations with Ford—but Stellantis and GM continue refusing to significantly budge on wages, cost of living adjustments, and ending the exploitive two-tier pay scale for workers. I’m also hearing the possibility of other plants going on strike this week but have not yet been able to confirm anything.

We hope to continue covering this strike. We’ll remain in Michigan today covering the Ford picket lines this afternoon. You can also DONATE to help fund this reporting trip.

Thanks for your support!

Jordan