Labor leaders gave rousing speeches to a spirited crowd of striking United Auto Workers members Saturday afternoon at a rally on the Far South Side.
“Record profits, record contracts,” “No deal? No wheels” and “UAW, union strong,” the hundreds of striking workers chanted at UAW Local 551 headquarters in Hegewisch.
“Our dignity has been chipped away. Our rights have been eroded. But we are here now to take a stand,” UAW Local 551 President Chris Pena said. “We build what drives America and the U.S. economy and we’re going to do it continually for another hundred years.”
Workers at Chicago’s Ford plant hit the picket line last week as the UAW strike spread. The strike began Sept. 15 as workers seek a new four-year contract with Ford, GM and Stellanis. The union’s demands include pay increases, a shorter work week and changes to their pension and health care plans.
Wally Egyed, a trim repairman from northwest Indiana, has worked at the Ford plant for 29 years and said the strike has been a long time coming.
“Everybody is behind the same cause and everybody is going through the same thing,” Egyed said of his fellow workers. “And we deserve more.”
Sandra Egyed, his wife, joined him on Saturday at the rally, where they celebrated 28 years of marriage.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but right beside him fighting for what’s right,” she said.
Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, commended the union for their commitment.
“The front lines are right here in our homes. It’s a class war on humanity. It’s a war of the working class versus a billionaire class and corporate greed,” Fain said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson also joined the rally, asking the cheering crowd “Is this a union town, or what?”
“You all are doing something that is transformational because this fight is about unraveling a system of inequities,” he said. “This is about unraveling a system of disparities. This is about unraveling a system that wants to pit workers against workers.”
Labor leaders from other industries also spoke, including Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union.
“The moment we are in has to be about demonstrating solidarity between Black and white. It has to be about demonstrating equity and justice between men and women,” Gates said.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, led the crowd in a sing-along of “Solidarity Forever,” an anthem of the American labor movement.
“Solidarity forever. For the union makes us strong,” the crowd sang together.
