Auto Workers Aren’t Striking Only for Higher Wages. They Want Their Pensions Back, Too
The union’s call reflects a growing anxiety around retirement security and more aggressive union leadership after decades of concessions.
A UAW picket line outside the General Motors Co. Flint Processing Center in Swartz Creek, Michigan, on Monday.
Photographer: Emily Elconin/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
On picket lines around the country, auto workers aren’t just demanding higher wages. They want to get back their once-sacred retirement pensions.
While United Auto Workers members who were hired prior to the 2008 financial crisis have pensions, those brought on since have received 401(k) plans instead. The union is demanding the auto companies provide pensions for new employees and those who currently lack them.