We demand that a longer contract, because one of our biggest goals coming out of this historic contract victory is to organize like we've never organized before. When we return to the bargaining table in 2028, it won't just be with the big three, [00:00:17] but with the big five or big six. With the Big five or the big Six, clearly. UAW President Sean Faine is eyeing the non-unionized automakers, and they should be concerned. In fact, if you look at the details, it seems like they are concerned [00:00:35] because some of these car companies are now raising wages and offering better benefits to their workers, hoping to basically dissuade them from organizing the workplace and forming a union or joining the United Auto Workers. [00:00:50] So the nonunion automakers listed include Hyundai. And it turns out that Hyundai has taken the lead from Toyota, and they have decided to raise their wages. Let's get to those details. [00:01:06] Hyundai said that it will raise factory worker pay 25% by 2028, matching the general wage increase won by the UAW during that period. Toyota, as we had reported earlier, by the way, raised factory pay 9% to 10% starting [00:01:23] in January, while Honda said it will increase wages 11% during the same period. Toyota and Honda also shortened the amount of time that it takes for workers to basically reach the top pay rate, and so far we haven't seen any reports [00:01:42] from Hyundai doing the same thing. But Harry Katz, a professor of collective bargaining at Cornell University, estimated that Hyundai now pays around $25 per hour with its increases, Toyota's top factory worker pay will go to $34.80 per hour in January. [00:02:01] Honda wouldn't say what its hourly rate will be, but analysts say it is likely comparable to Toyota's. And let's compare those numbers to what the unionized workers, those who are part of the United Auto Workers, won as a result of their strike. [00:02:17] Under the new tentative agreements, UAW workers will receive a wage hike of 11% upon ratification and 25% in wage hikes through April of 2028. And by the way, really important to keep in mind that this is before [00:02:32] the cost of living adjustments and other benefits they were able to secure thanks to their labor action. According to the union, starting pay is now over $30 per hour and the top pay is over $42 per hour. With the cost of living adjustments. [00:02:49] And the UAW was happy to take credit for the raises that workers at nonunion shops got. Here's how they responded to the news. UAW stands for You are welcome. Now was I love it because what happened here is you see this this labor movement, [00:03:10] you see the strike really lifting all boats. And it wasn't just the union shops. And you see, and the reason why that happens is because the other employers are like, please don't unionize. Please look, look, we're going to we're going to give you better pay. You don't need to organize the workplace. [00:03:26] But I would venture to say would probably be better to organize the workplace anyway. You get better representation that way. What do you think? Well, if you're a worker at Honda or if you're a worker at a Toyota factory, there's no other conclusion to draw besides the fact that the bosses [00:03:45] only respond to direct threats. They didn't do this out of the clear blue sky. They didn't do this out of the goodness of their heart. They didn't do this because they now had an epiphany that workers didn't deserve, excuse me, a larger share of the pie. [00:04:02] They did this because they see the worker militancy that happened at the big three, and they could see the writing on the wall of that same level of militancy, if not more militancy coming their way. And in order to stave that threat, that direct threat off, they decided to go [00:04:20] ahead and raise wages and raise benefits. That's that's the only conclusion to to draw from this. There's no other way to see this. And, you know, as, as the young kids might say, and Honda and Toyota and the like, [00:04:35] they didn't want the smoke. They did not want the smoke. And look, Sean Fein and Sean O'Brien, who's not related to this story, he's the president of the Teamsters. But we've been talking about Sean O'Brien a lot lately, for obvious reasons. He almost engaged in fisticuffs with Senator Markwayne Mullin. [00:04:54] I think that's his name. But nonetheless, they don't joke around. I mean, they are the type of union leaders that are reminiscent of, I mean, decades and decades ago. They don't mess around. They're willing to fight. [00:05:10] They're not really sucking up to the Democratic Party. I feel like more and more unions over the last several decades have just decided to side with the Democratic Party, even. Even as the Democratic Party did little for the workers that they were representing. But in the case of Sean Fein and Sean O'Brien, they're not messing around. [00:05:28] And let me just remind you all that Sean O'Brien was able to secure major wins for UPS. So it's not just the UAW that's shown us some incredible wins. We're also seeing that from the Teamsters as well. [00:05:43] I mean, look, I'm glad you said they're not afraid to fight, because, again. And I need folks, I need to stress this to folks watching at home. There's no other way to achieve this. Being nice. Going along to get along with the bosses will not get you what you want. [00:06:02] Being excellent, being hyper productive will not get you what you want. Worker militancy is all that works. There's no other way to do this. We've seen the level of, you know, the as far as the pie that is earned, [00:06:20] that is generated by the work that is done, it's gotten less and less for workers over the years. As you know, countless union busting efforts from both our government and the private sector, we've seen that wages have not kept up with production. [00:06:37] And the only thing that stems this tide has been worker militancy. This there's nothing else. Again, you can look this up. Any study I'm talking about, even studies commissioned by the bosses, heritage foundations and the likes, they will tell you that American workers and workers [00:06:55] globally have never been more productive. Let yet look at how the wages lag when it comes to that production. And so, you know, again, there's no other conclusion to draw from this. You have to be militant in order to achieve your ends as a worker. [00:07:13] Especially in a massive company that has tens of thousands of employees, you just become a number. So one of the better ways of ensuring that you're represented properly is to be part of a union. And I think we saw it play out perfectly when it came to, well, I wouldn't say perfectly. [00:07:29] It's not that they got everything they wanted, but they were able to secure far more concessions and far more wins and get far more of what they wanted. Through being part of a no holds barred union, both the Teamsters for the UPS workers and obviously the autoworkers [00:07:47] who are part of the United Auto Workers. So a really good news all around. Absolutely love it. And just if you're considering this, you know, if you're considering organizing your workplace, obviously take a look at the possibilities, [00:08:03] take a look at what this kind of representation could offer you. And I think that it is a better way of improving your immediate conditions at the workplace, improving your pay, as opposed to just sitting around and hoping that, [00:08:19] like President Joe Biden's going to help you or your member of Congress is going to help you, there's power in numbers. And if you're organized, there's far more. I guess you have far more weight and leverage in getting what you want from your employer. [00:08:34] It's the best way that. And just one last thing that I need folks to understand the ideas and the principles that guide the corporate class. They don't just come out of the clear blue sky. Their principles come from people like Milton Friedman. [00:08:50] And if you go look up, this guy is sort of doctrine and orthodoxy. It's this concept of, you know, complete and unfettered individualism and what he considered to be freedom for who, not for you, the worker. [00:09:06] Freedom from for the bosses, from regulation, from unions, from anything that gets in the way of unfettered capitalism. Like you can go look up this guy's these people's way of thinking. It's so anti-worker in its origin, like they saw themselves as stemming [00:09:27] the tide of stuff like the New Deal and worker movements across the Global South, in places like South America and places like Central America. Like these ideas come as a response to that. So just know who you're working directly against when it comes [00:09:43] to who these bosses look up to and who's invented their ideology. If you enjoyed this video, that's because of our members. They make us independent, they make us strong, and they make us honest. Become a member today by hitting the join button below.