CHICAGO, August 5—A strike of 1,700 auto mechanics from 130 car dealerships is now in its second week. Workers are demanding that the Chicago Automobile Trade Association (CATA) give workers what they deserve after the last two contracts have given concessions to the bosses.
The workers represented by Automobile Mechanics’ Local 701 are fighting for a guaranteed 40-hour work week, better schedules, higher apprentice wages, and a reinstated 4-year apprentice program in place of an 8-year one. They have said that mechanics have not been paid for all the hours they work, and that bosses are making it more difficult for apprentices to find their way into the industry.
PL’ers went to the picket lines to support the striking mechanics, and to bring a long-term, communist alternative to the crumbs thrown to us by the bosses. We brought the workers water and held up their strike signs with them with pride. We led chants such as, “shut it down, shut it tight—the bosses can’t profit when the workers unite!” The workers thanked us and welcomed our presence and support. We distributed CHALLENGES and got into many discussions.
One worker we spoke to came from Vietnam and was a neighbor of a PL member, and it turned out he went to the same ESL school that another comrade taught in. He thought that revolution was going a little too far because he did not like war and his dad suffered a lot in Vietnam and died in a camp. It is important to win the working class to see that the ruling class will never, and has never, handed over power willingly. For the international working class to win a world run by and for workers, revolution is a must—communist revolution.
Another young worker was an immigrant from Mexico, who came here when he was eight. The racist system has held him back in many ways—first, he couldn’t start mechanic school until he was a permanent resident, so he had to wait until years after high school. Now, the bosses are holding him back in an 8-year apprentice program.
Worker Solidarity vs. Individualism
In an important show of solidarity, experienced workers are standing strong in this strike, though key aspects of the struggle are for better conditions and better pay for newer, less experienced mechanics. One striker was quoted saying, “It took me two years to become a journeyman back when I started in this business, and they’re asking these guys basically to give up eight years of their lives to learn the trade” (CBS Chicago, 9/1). Capitalist ideology and media are used to convince workers to look out for themselves only, and not get involved in others’ battles. That ideology is losing here!
When we visited workers on the fifth day of the strike, their spirits seemed high. We in PLP must continue to build support for these workers, as they should be setting the mood for all workers. At the same time, we must bring forward the understanding that unions and contracts will never end the wage exploitation that this capitalist system is based in. Union leadership misleads workers into thinking the system can be reformed to work for us—but only a worker-run communist world will truly benefit the working class. Support striking mechanics and spread the fight back! Long live the international working class.