The recent visits by President-Elect Joe Biden and incumbent President Donald Trump to the striking General Motors (GM) workers in GM’s Lordstown, Ohio facility were meant to recognize the employees and their struggle as labor wages continue to remain stagnant in the face of soaring profits for many large corporation.
The 8,200 GM workers, members of the UAW union, have been on strike since mid-September over GM’s efforts to cut wages and benefits. While the UAW has negotiated an increase in wages and a $11,000 signing bonus, they are insisting that these benefits should stay in place until the expiration of their current contract in 2021 and beyond.
Both the Biden and Trump visits fell flat, however, with many of the workers describing them as “window dressing” and “pure optics” aiming to gain public sympathy for their cause. While it is positive that the presidential candidates showed their support for the union, a real solution to the workers’ grievances requires much more than window dressing.
The UAW and the 8,200 workers are fighting for not only better wages, but a stable work environment with job security and an end to the company’s two-tier wage system where new hires make dramatically less than veteran employees.
Ultimately, the UAW is calling for the permanent closure of GM’s Lordstown plant and the transfer of production of the Chevy Cruze to other GM facilities in order to retain jobs and regular salary. This would provide much-needed job security and enable employees to keep their wages and benefits while also avoiding lay-offs.
In the absence of a real solution, it’s easy to understand why the visits from Biden and Trump left the workers less than gratified. Until a real agreement is reached which guarantees stable work and reasonable pay and benefits, the future of GM’s Lordstown facility and its workers remain uncertain.