The following is a statement by Will Lehman, a rank-and-file Mack Trucks worker and candidate for UAW president in last year’s election, calling on all autoworkers to come to the aid of the striking Clarios workers in Toledo, Ohio.
I urge all UAW members to support the 525 striking workers at the Clarios battery manufacturing plant in Holland, Ohio, just outside of Toledo. These workers are fighting the world’s largest auto battery maker and the powerful financial interests behind it. The outcome of this strike will have major consequences for the hundreds of thousands of GM, Ford and Stellantis workers facing their own contract battles this summer.
Clarios, formerly the battery division of Johnson Controls, was bought by the private equity firm Brookfield Partners in 2019. Although the company made $1.6 billion last year, its wealthy investors want to boost profits by 30 percent in the next few years before they “flip” it for a massive payout.
In the last few years, workers have lost $10 an hour or more due to repeated cuts in piece rates. They regularly work 19 days in a row and 12 hours a shift at straight time before they get two days off and do it again. Exposure to toxic chemicals is so bad that workers must get tested for high levels of lead in their blood, which can cause lifelong disabilities and be passed onto their kids. Workers report that it is commonplace for retirees to get cancer and die a few years after leaving.
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