Oct 12, 2023
WATCH: Jim Cramer Is FLOORED That UAW Strikers Have Public Support
CNBC Jim Cramer simply could not believe that striking UAW strikers are enjoying HUGE public support.
- 10 minutes
AP's got a piece this morning on public
approval of either the automakers or
the unions.
You want to know percentage
that favored the automakers?
>> Speaker 2: My.
>> Speaker 1: It's like 6%,
9% something below ten.
>> Speaker 2: I was shocked at that.
I thought that perhaps there would
be people who say, you know what?
[00:00:17]
I have an F 150, I love it,
and they do a great job, and
the workers are being greedy and no.
>> Speaker 3: That was awesome.
>> Speaker 3: That was
the greatest thing I've ever seen.
I'm sorry, can I just say,
when Jim Cramer looks defeated.
[00:00:37]
>> It was so.
>> I hadn't seen it.
When he's like,
the workers win, I was yes yes,
our goal in life should be
to defeat CNBC anchors.
>> Speaker 4: Dude Jimmy Boy.
Okay, most Americans work,
and they work hard, and
[00:00:55]
they know what it's like to feel like
they aren't getting their fair share.
Most people don't have cushy
jobs in front of a camera.
Most people don't get paid millions of
dollars in broadcast media contracts.
[00:01:12]
So the reason why he doesn't
understand why Americans
are supportive of UAW workers and
their strike,
it's because he doesn't understand
what it means to be a worker.
That's why that disconnect exists.
He's like, wait, I don't understand.
[00:01:28]
Isn't everyone heavily
invested in the Big Three?
And aren't they worried about
the value of those shares going down?
No, Jimmy.
No, most Americans want a fair wage.
They want better working conditions.
They want a piece of
the pie that makes sense.
[00:01:44]
That's the reality of the situation,
so let's take a look.
>> Speaker 3: Can I say one more thing
about Jim Cramer's wonderfully defeated
attitude?
He's like, I thought a lot of Americans
would like their Ford 150, but wait,
finish the thought, Jim.
So then you thought, since they liked
their truck, that they would be like,
[00:02:00]
I'm so proud of those Ford executives.
I am rooting for that corporation so much.
>> Speaker 4: Yeah.
>> Speaker 3: I hope they make a couple
more billion dollars in profits and
don't share it with their workers.
>> Speaker 4: Hey, Cenk,
who built Ford tough?
Who did it?
>> Speaker 3: The CEO, the COO, the CFO?
[00:02:16]
You really think that real
Americans think that way?
Look at how detached
from reality they are.
>> Speaker 4: It's incredible.
>> Speaker 3: They're like, how come
they're not thanking the executives?
>> Speaker 4: So let's get to the poll
that his co host was referring to, which,
[00:02:33]
of course, led to that reaction.
So this was an AP-NORC Center for
Public Affairs Research poll,
and here's what they found.
36% of Americans do, in fact,
sympathize with the workers in
their dispute with the automakers.
[00:02:49]
9% support the automakers, just 9% and
the rest back either both or neither.
Now, if you break it down based
on political affiliation,
55% of Democrats sympathize
with the workers.
So that's really really good news and
[00:03:07]
only 5% sympathize with the automakers.
Six in ten people in the AP-NORC
poll say they think better pay for
the auto workers would be a good thing.
Eight in ten Democrats and just under
half of Republicans say it would be
[00:03:24]
a good thing if the workers got raises.
And guess what?
The strikers refuse to back down,
they are still on strike.
And if anything, they're really heating
things up, which I love to see.
So after an unsuccessful
meeting with Ford last night,
[00:03:41]
8700 UAW workers at Ford's
largest plant in Louisville,
Kentucky walked off the job
without prior warning,
which is actually a new tactic for
the union.
The UAW has been announcing
its strike decisions on
[00:03:59]
Fridays since it began their
walkouts nearly a month ago.
So here's Shawn Fain explaining
their new tactic and decision.
>> Speaker 5: Unfortunately,
we've had to escalate our action.
Bargaining committee here at Ford's been
busting their asses, working hard for
[00:04:14]
the membership.
Vice President Browning and
the whole know we came here today
to get another offer from Ford.
Unfortunately, this offer was the exact
same offer they gave us two weeks ago.
In our position,
they're not taking this serious.
We've been very patient working with the
company on this, at the end of the day,
[00:04:31]
they have not met expectations.
They're not even coming
to the table on it.
So at this point we had to take action.
Unfortunate that the company's put us in
this position, but they made it happen.
This is on them,
they have to own know we've been doing
things a certain way every Friday.
We've been doing Facebook Live
updates to make announcements.
[00:04:46]
So we had to choose to do
things differently this way and
that's what we've done this time.
So the good thing about
this is a flexible option.
So we had to make a decision.
The companies aren't gonna
come to the table and
take care of the membership's needs,
then we will react.
The bargaining committees
of vice presidents and
the membership are staying united and
that's how we're going to get this done.
[00:05:05]
>> Speaker 4: Shan Fain,
as far as I can tell,
really does appear to
be an excellent leader.
Now Ford has offered UAW members
a 23% wage increase over the course
of a four-year contract as well
as cost-of-living adjustments.
[00:05:20]
Now the UAW has demanded
a 36% wage hike and
significant improvements to retirement,
health care and other benefits.
In addition to that, considering
the changing nature of automaking and
the shift toward electric vehicles.
[00:05:36]
Fain also wants union representation
of workers at new battery plants that
are still under construction.
And to get a sense of just how
significant this Ford plant walkout is,
just listen to CNBC and
I gladly will describe the factory.
[00:05:54]
>> Speaker 6: It is the largest
plant Ford has in the world.
It is probably by most in
the industry consider it the most
profitable auto plant of any
automaker in the United States.
This is where 19.7% of their volume
comes out of the Kentucky truck plant.
[00:06:12]
And by the way, the stamping facility and
the parts that are coming out of
the Kentucky truck plant, they feed
into about 13 other facilities upstream.
>> Speaker 4: So just to give you a sense
of how much money Ford is losing as
[00:06:29]
a result of this specific walkout,
they are expected to lose about
$150,000,000 per week, okay,
in core profit from that Kentucky plant.
>> Speaker 3: So Jim Kramer's reaction is,
why don't the average American care about
[00:06:45]
the $150,000,000 in corporate
profits we're losing every week?
Okay, so, look, I don't know about
the specific details of the negotiation.
There's no way of knowing from
the outside what's fair and
not fair about what they should do with
electric vehicle batteries, right?
[00:07:03]
So I'm not commenting on that but
what's clear about Shawn Fain
is that he's an American hero.
And why do I say that?
Look, this guy is God on the left.
We are so starved for
leaders and strength.
[00:07:20]
So, number one, the guy understands PR.
He puts out that video clearly
explaining their position and
why they did the walkout.
Thank you.
The union leader leaders for so long would
do things, and then they would never
explain it, and they would never
effectively communicate it in the press,
[00:07:36]
and then they would get blamed, right?
No, he's like, look,
we asked them for something new.
It took two weeks,
I thought we're gonna get a new offer.
And so when they insult us by not giving
us a new offer and wasting our time,
we said, all right,
then we'll go strike on that plant.
[00:07:52]
And then when you cry that, my God,
that plant makes $25 billion a year,
okay, then why don't you share
some of that $25 billion?
You fall right into his PR trap.
I love this guy.
And so
then you see that video of the workers.
[00:08:07]
You know what they look like?
They look like America, right?
White, black, blue collar,
working class God that was America, right?
And he lines them all up behind him.
He sends out the videos of
them on the picket line, etc.
[00:08:23]
And he's strong.
This is how you're supposed to do it.
>> Speaker 4: Definitely, now, in response
to the latest strike action, Ford,
in a statement,
called the decision to strike or
walk off the job in the Louisville,
Kentucky plant grossly irresponsible.
[00:08:38]
But unsurprising, given the union
leadership stated strategy of keeping
the Detroit 3 wounded for months through
reputational damage and industrial chaos.
Pay them what they're owed.
It's not that difficult,
considering the insane profits and
[00:08:55]
the insane compensation package
that the CEOs have been getting.
$29 million in compensation
in one example.
Come on.
And Wednesday's walkout brings the total
number of striking UAW workers
[00:09:11]
at the Big Three automakers Ford,
General Motors and
Jeep-maker Stellantis to about 33, 700.
Or roughly 22% of the union's
workers at the Detroit automakers.
>> Speaker 3: All right, last thing is,
look, Republican voters, our beef with you
[00:09:26]
is with your leaders, the right
wing media, the politicians, etc.
But what are you guys doing?
Why are you only at 22%,
supporting the auto workers?
Now, a lot of them also say both,
to be fair, right?
But, guys,
you're also the average American worker.
[00:09:41]
Like we are, everybody is.
When I say we, I mean the Democratic side,
the left wing side, the right wing side.
All real people are normal
American workers,
you got to have solidarity there, man.
Don't listen to your right wing media
telling you that you should kiss the ass
[00:09:59]
of the company s and the corporations, and
you should worship their stock portfolios.
No stick up for the average guy.
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