DETROIT — A vice president of the United Auto Workers made an impassioned call Tuesday to save an indefinitely idled Jeep plant in Illinois on day two of the Detroit-based union's bargaining convention.
"The only thing that matters is that we decide to stay together," said Rich Boyer, UAW vice president and the head of the Stellantis Department. "When will we quit letting them rip our hands apart knuckle by knuckle, ball our fist and punch them in the mouth? We have to start punching back."
The graphic comment is a sign of the militant rhetoric of the new leadership that has overtaken the union under the direct election of international leaders by its more than 1 million members. The language used by the leaders that had been endorsed by the Unite All Workers for Democracy Caucus suggests an aggressive approach to contract talks later this year: already they are expected to be made tough by inflation, the transition to electric vehicles and competition for allocation with the UAW's Canadian counterpart, Unifor, which will be negotiating at the same time as the UAW for the first time in years.
