WASHINGTON, DC – Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman on Friday published an op-ed on MSNBC about the ongoing UAW strike, his support for the striking workers, and his experience pushing for a fair deal between the locomotive company Wabtec and striking United Electrical, Radio, and Machine workers in Erie earlier this year.
“Put simply, union workers built this country, and they work every day to keep it running. The least we can do is support them when they stand up and demand to be treated and paid fairly,” he wrote.
He continued, “Last Saturday, I got in my union-made Ford Bronco at home in Braddock, Pennsylvania, and drove 290 miles to Wayne, Michigan — from one union town to another — to walk the picket line with those same workers. I made the trip just two days after about 12,700 UAW members at Big Three assembly plants went on strike to demand better pay and better benefits.”
“… I walked the picket line with United Electrical workers and spoke with the union to hear about the real needs of workers and their families. Then I spoke with Wabtec management to lay out what I’d learned and to hear about the company’s own position, aiming to find a solution and win a deal that worked for the workers. Turns out, if you cut the BS and keep talking seriously, you can get a lot accomplished.”
Senator Fetterman’s full opinion piece can be read here.
Senator Fetterman has long been a vocal advocate for the union way of life. In addition to joining workers on the picket line in Erie and Wayne, he has consistently expressed support for workers fighting for recognition and their fair share, including strikingPost-Gazette workers in Pittsburgh, Teamsters at UPS, writers with WGA, and performers with SAG-AFTRA. He has also used his legislative power to protect and expand the rights of organized labor, most notably introducing the Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023, legislation to allow striking workers to qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. He is also fighting to preserve the union way of life through the PRO Act and to raise the minimum wage to at least $17 per hour with the Raise the Wage Act of 2023.
