“The CEOs and all the people at the top of the pile have all the money,” said Oxley, 68, a retired truck driver who wears a Harley Davidson hat and last joined a union at the age 18. “But the guys down there I barely get anything.
Above the fire stood Selvin Sandoval, a striking employee who makes $31 an hour after ten years stocking the shelves at the warehouse, which ships parts to GM dealers for vehicle repairs. Sandoval often works ten to twenty hours of overtime a week to make ends meet for his wife and three children.
“Without overtime, it would be extremely difficult,” said Sandoval, who recently managed a 74-hour week. “I work almost all the hours offered.”
The United Auto Workers launched a targeted strike against GM, Ford and Jeep maker Stellantis two weeks ago, shutting down three plants that assemble popular SUVs and pickup trucks. Last week, the union expanded its action to 38 parts warehouses across the country, widening the work stoppage to affect more drivers, those trying to get their cars repaired.
So far, Bucks County residents seem pretty friendly to the workers. A few expressed concern about the impact of the strike on automobile prices and availability, but most of those interviewed by The Washington Post said they supported workers demanding better wages in an era of growing income inequality.
The views here in Bucks County – a well-known swing county located on the northern edge of suburban Philadelphia – could provide some insight into how the electorate will view the strike and its potential economic impact as it approaches. an election year. Bucks County went for President Biden in 2020, but Republicans also proved to be strongre-electing Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick to Congress.
Biden and former President Donald Trump this week both speak publicly about the work stoppagehoping to convince union voters and Americans in general that they are on the side of the working class.
Wednesday, Trump expected to speak in suburban Detroit at non-union auto parts maker, instead of joining the Republican presidential debate. On Tuesday, Biden stood alongside UAW President Shawn Fain outside a GM parts warehouse in Wayne, Michigan, telling strikers they had “earned way more” than they are paid Today.
GM warehouse workers hired after 2015 found themselves stuck at a lower wage level that starts around $17 an hour and tops out at $25, below the $18 to $32 range for full-time workers in vehicle assembly. GM’s current offer to the UAW would raise warehouse workers up to assembly worker wages, an improvement Fain welcomed in a Facebook Live speech on September 22. But he said GM’s offer was still unacceptable because the company refused to give the union job security provisions or regular cost-of-living wage adjustments that the UAW is demanding.
GM called its offer, which also includes a 20 percent raise over four years for full-time workers, the best in the company’s 115-year history.
Working class wages are clearly an issue that resonates with Bucks County voters of all political persuasions who have expressed frustration with the yawning gap between rich and poor.
At the Langhorne Coffee House, a ten-minute drive from the strikers, Sherri Crisenbery was having breakfast this week with two friends from church.
“I think there’s been this huge disparity between management and labor, for years and years,” the self-described liberal voter said. “I think most people sympathize with union workers because the disparity is too great…you need a little party in every sector.”
Her friend from church, Karen Marquis, said she saw the strikers while walking past the warehouse the other day. Marquis, who describes herself as a moderate Republican who has never supported Trump and voted for Biden in the last election, recalls a recent lecture at their Unitarian church on economic justice.
“I think most people would favor the idea of saying that a person should receive a salary proportionate to the success of the company,” Marquis said. “The people who make the product are the reason the company is successful.”
“I’m generally friendly – of course, until I want to go buy a car,” Marquis added with a laugh.
At the next table, Randy Hips, a longtime conservative and Trump supporter who is in the market for a used Chevrolet Suburban, said he was a little worried about how the strike might also affect automobile prices. He also worries that Detroit automakers are losing ground to foreign automakers with lower labor costs. But he said he supports UAW workers who are fighting for more.
“They should get what they are entitled to, be able to maximize their talents and be paid what they are worth,” said Hips, who sells deli products to supermarkets.
Maintaining public support will be important for the strike, especially if it drags on, said Jake Rosenfeld, a sociology professor and labor expert at Washington University in St. Louis. He said he was surprised so far by the high level of public approval among non-union adults, citing polls showing 2 to 1 support among this population. “This level of support for such potentially disruptive industrial action is truly impressive,” he said.
The UAW was keen to point out that car prices have already increased flew to record levels in recent years, propelled by pandemic-related market gyrations and automakers’ growing focus on more expensive vehicles.
Fain said the union targets GM and Stellantis parts warehouses in part because they generate a lot of profit for the companies. When he announced the new strike targets last week, he also appeared to acknowledge the delays some car owners may experience when they need repairs. The way to “fix the frustrating customer experience” is for companies to invest their “record profits in stable jobs and sustainable wages and benefits,” he said during a Facebook Live speech on September 22.
Kelly McKinnon, a warehouse worker manning the picket line Tuesday, said the disruption to parts deliveries means “everyone is going to be affected.” She said she hoped the public would remain on the side of workers. “We need their help – the public – to help us respond a little bit,” she said.
GM dealers are among the most wary in Bucks County of the strike.
Joshua Jones, assistant parts manager at O’Neil Buick-GMC in Warminster, said in recent weeks he has ordered $20,000 worth of additional parts, including additional oil filters and air filters, to make his dealer is well stocked for several months. During the UAW’s last strike against GM, in 2019, the dealership ran out of important parts, forcing it to “beg other dealers for help,” he said.
Jones, who generally supports Democrats, said he doesn’t particularly feel sympathy toward workers or businesses. “I don’t think either side is realistic,” he said. “I think it’s mostly greed on both sides.”
Wearing an Eagles jersey to watch Monday Night Football at a local sports bar, Chris Kinsey, an editor at an advertising agency, described himself as “very pro-union” and fully supportive of the strike. When asked if he was worried about rising car prices, he dismissed the worry.
“I don’t think we should worry about that kind of thing,” he said. “I think we should be concerned about Americans… earning a living wage. »