How many autoworkers have died from Covid-19?
How many more UAW families are awaiting diagnosis?
Who is ultimately responsible for the health and safety of UAW families?
On March 17, Caravan Facility Management, a contractor employed by GM, fired Travis Watkins, a UAW Bargaining Chair of a unit in Amalgamated UAW Local 167. Watkins works facility skilled trades at GM Components Holding [GMCH] in Wyoming, MI.
Termination deprives Watkins of income; denies him justification of unemployment benefits; and strips Travis and his two children of health insurance in the midst of a virulent pandemic.
Management terminated Watkins because he posted on March 16, on a private Facebook page, “GMCH employees were walked out of the plant today with suspected COVID-19 symptoms . . . I’ve reported this to Local Leadership.”
One of the employees who was removed from the plant responded to the post, “Hey one of those was me!” The UAW member then described the symptoms and reported, “I can’t come back until my Dr says ok.”
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To donate to Brother Watkins’ Go-Fund-Me
About Brother Shotwell — Gregg Shotwell, a machine operator turned rebel writer, worked 30 years at General Motors. His shopfloor fliers grew legs of their own. Workers all over the country and abroad downloaded Live Bait & Ammo and commandeered company copiers to spread what Gregg calls, “the vigor of truth and the ruth of rebellion.” His growing notoriety led reporters in his hometown to question: “Is Toyota scared of this man?” UAW bureaucrats pretend he doesn’t exist, but auto industry analysts and reporters cite his work, and online labor media like Socialist Worker, Labor Notes, and the Monthly Review post his articles, poems, and satires with unreserved enthusiasm.
You can purchase Gregg’s book, “Autoworkers Under the Gun,” at Haymarket Books.