Sen. Gary Peters says he ‘fully supports’ the UAW strike
The Michigan Democrat spoke with WDET about the state of the labor movement and potential long-term impacts of the UAW strike.
Auto workers picket outside Ford's assembly plant on Sept. 15, 2023, in Wayne, Mich.
The United Auto Workers union has announced a targeted strike against Detroit’s Big 3 automakers. That fight for higher wages and improved benefits has drawn praise from some lawmakers and been ignored by others.
President Joe Biden put his support behind UAW members and their right to strike.
“Auto companies have seen record profits including the last few years because of the extraordinary skill and sacrifices the UAW workers, but those record profits have not been shared fairly in my view with those workers,” Biden says.
Democratic Michigan Senator Gary Peters visited picketers at the Ford Bronco Plant in Wayne, Mich. on Friday.
He tells WDET that it’s tough to know how long the strike will last.
“Negotiations tend to be very, very fluid. And sometimes when you think you’re at an impasse, all of a sudden something happens to move things along very, very quickly. So I think it’s difficult to know,” Peters says.
“But clearly we’d like to have the strike over as soon as as possible. Certainly I fully support the UAW and their efforts and hope they can get to a point where we can get past the strike and get everyone back to work.”
To hear the full interview, use the audio player above.
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