“We are still fighting”: Less than an hour after striking Dakkota suppliers rejected the third sell-off, the UAW bureaucracy announces a fourth

Do you work at Dakkota, Ford or in the automotive industry? Fill out the form below to get involved in the network of autoworkers' committees in your plant.

The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) is holding a rally next Sunday, August 25, at 3:00 p.m. ET, “For Global Action to Defend Jobs at Warren Truck and Around the World!” We encourage Dakkota workers to attend. To register, click here.

“We are still fighting”: Less than an hour after striking Dakkota suppliers rejected the third sell-off, the UAW bureaucracy announces a fourth — Striking Dakkota workers on the picket line on Tuesday, August 20. The workers on the picket line denounced the sell-out collective agreement that the UAW had reinstated. [Photo: WSWS/WSWS]

On Friday night, striking suppliers at the nearby Ford assembly plant in Dakota rejected a third sell-out contract despite threats and intimidation from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, saying it was the “last, best and final offer.”

More than 450 workers at Dakotta have been on strike for more than two weeks against starvation wages and intolerable working conditions at the parts factory that supplies the nearby Ford assembly plant in Chicago.

The vote was a massive rejection of the union bureaucracy. A key factor in the rejection of the resolution was the initiative of the newly formed Workers' Action Committee of Dakkota, which issued a statement entitled “Dakkota Workers: Vote NO and Reject Corporate Blackmail of the UAW! Organize Grassroots Control of the Vote!”

The most recent contract, presented by the UAW and rejected by the workers, required new hires to pay a pittance starting at $16.80 an hour. The only change from the last contract was an increase in the starting wage for workers who had been with the company for more than 48 months from $21 to $22 an hour.

Dakkota workers reported that they immediately celebrated the announcement of the results at the picket line.

At 8:50 p.m., UAW Local 3212 sent a text message to members informing them of the voting results: the third, hastily announced vote had been rejected by 55 percent to 45 percent.

But within an hour, the UAW called for a fourth vote on Sunday.

At 9:55 p.m., the union sent another text message that read: “UAW Local 3212: Sunday, August 25, 2024, IMPORTANT MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION AND VOTING MEETING. 11:00 AM TO 12:00 PM. DAKKOTA MEMBERS ONLY.”

The bureaucracy, acting on behalf of both Dakkota and Ford, is no doubt extremely nervous, fearing that things will escalate and that they will lose control in the face of the development of the Dakkota workers' rebellion.

“Everyone is angry!”

A picket worker told the World Socialist Website“Everyone is furious! At first we wanted to celebrate. We made a big deal out of it.”

She added: “Then they accused us of it! The UAW bargaining committee is worthless. We will write down our demands. Now we are in control. They are no longer in control of anything.”

“Despite their previous threats, we voted against it,” she said. “It's crazy because within an hour they're telling us to go back to our normal working hours. And now they want us to have an hour-long meeting on Sunday about another offer? They want 400 people to vote in an hour? There's no parking. There's going to be chaos.”

Another worker said, “I think this is coercion! What are we even voting on? How can we vote again and they weren't at the negotiating table? We just voted today. It's like they want us to vote yes. Was there a replacement contract or are we voting on something else?”

The workers of Dakkota must take matters into their own hands and go on the offensive. The statement from the Dakkota Workers Rank-and-File Committee said: “To prevent a betrayal of our struggle by the UAW, it is imperative that rank-and-file Dakkota workers take control of the situation and impose their will. We cannot win this struggle with a 'leadership' controlled by the other side.”

The UAW bureaucracy, led by Shawn Fain, is working to prevent a joint counteroffensive by workers affected by layoffs at Stellantis and the strike by over 1,000 UAW academic workers at Cornell University.

Workers in Dakota must learn from the recent experiences of workers at Lear, Clarios, John Deere and other labor disputes, where workers overwhelmingly rejected several collective bargaining agreements between the UAW and the company until the UAW bureaucracy ultimately pushed the contracts through.

Workers must immediately take control of the strike

The workers of Dakkota must build a Dakkota Workers Action Committee and take control of the picket lines and the strike. The workers must discuss their own demands, democratically elect their own leadership from the picket lines, and make it clear that the UAW “leaders” no longer represent their interests.

Workers in Dakota should take action to expand this fight. They should send delegations to Ford in Chicago to lobby for a ban on scab parts. They should also use social media to mobilize the widest possible support at Ford, the Big Three, and among parts workers at Lear, Flex 'N' Gate, Tower and elsewhere.

One long-time Ford worker reported that the strike had had an impact. “We're not even working a full shift — not even close,” he said. “Since the strike, we've been producing about 280 cars per shift. So production is down by more than half. I fully support the workers at Dakkota, and we shouldn't be using scab parts here.”

Workers can win this fight, but they cannot simply wait and launch a labor counteroffensive for jobs, wages and better working conditions.

“Many of us are still ready to fight”

Workers at Dakkota spoke out all night against the recent maneuvers of the UAW bureaucracy.

One worker said after the vote: “We're still fighting. I think they're trying to convince everyone to vote yes because it's so close. They're trying to threaten everyone to come back on Monday. I don't think this is a fair contract for everyone.”

“I think we deserve a lot more,” she added. “If we come in here, we should make at least $25 to $26. It could be more. I know they can pay more.”

“I know the higher-ups said if they paid us more they could go bankrupt. I don't think that's true. They're just trying to keep the money up there, with the executives, the CEO, etc. They get the most of everything. We don't even get a bonus.”

A major reason for workers' anger is the skyrocketing cost of living in a city like Chicago, where a one-bedroom apartment costs an average of over $2,000.

She added: “I shouldn't be working more than 40 hours and still only bringing home $400 checks. That's impossible!”

“I have two jobs. I work six days a week. Tomorrow I'm going to my other job. I need something better so I can quit my other job. On weekends I work downtown. There is no work-life balance. It's a lot.”

She appealed to other workers in Dakota: “Don't listen to the leaders of UAW 3212. They are giving us false information. On Thursday they came back and said this was a good deal. They said it was the 'last, best and final offer'! No, it is not!”

“I think a lot of us are still willing to fight for what we want and deserve. I believe that. But they're trying to get us to vote again to get us back to work. But what are we voting for? They haven't even talked to us.”

“We have to fight back,” she added.

“The dynamic has shifted … we have to be aggressive now”

Another new Dakkota worker spoke about the mood on the picket lines.

He said: “After the third vote, the dynamics shifted. The workers were afraid that the vote would fail. But I can hear them on the phone tonight. Now they are cheering. Maybe we will emerge victorious after all.”

He reported that union representatives tried to intimidate workers in the union building during the vote. “I saw how they behaved in the union building and tried to scare us. I said, I have no questions for you. I am now more informed than you. I don't need to talk to you.”

“Some people were crying today,” he said of the mood and anger in the hall. “Some were angry. But the union officials know that intimidation doesn't work. They know that low prices don't work.

“They don't ask what we want. They come with these numbers. We only saw the union leader once in the last week!

“They threatened us in the union building that they can now lock us out. That they can train these temporary workers better. That we will then have no job to return to. I told the people outside the union building not to buy what they are selling. They are trying to circumvent the process.

“They've got a few people going the other way. I'm doing my best to influence them and shake them up. And make sure they don't fall into the trap.”

He appealed to his colleagues at Dakkota: “We can't just wait and see. We have to be aggressive now. It's like a price war now. We have them in a tight spot. If we keep hitting, sooner or later they'll go under. They're nervous about what might come of it. We need much higher wages, $26 to $28 to start with. We need paid company holidays. We can't live paycheck to paycheck. We have to fight for what we need.”

“We are still fighting”: Less than an hour after striking Dakkota suppliers rejected the third sell-off, the UAW bureaucracy announces a fourth

“Everyone is angry!”

You may also like...

Recent Posts

“We are still fighting”: Less than an hour after striking Dakkota suppliers rejected the third sell-off, the UAW bureaucracy announces a fourth

“Everyone is angry!”

You may also like...

Man arrested in March murder of woman shot and left on street in Hallandale Beach – NBC 6 South Florida

1 injured in shooting at gas station in Atlanta

Spencer man found guilty of federal drug and weapons charges

Recent Posts