By ERNIE GOTTA
Read here the news and views from the class struggle in the U.S. and internationally! This edition features news from Connecticut, Ohio, Kentucky, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.
Auto workers in Conn. threaten strike at Cummins
UAW Local 379 is demanding wage and health benefit increases, profit sharing, and job security at Cummins/Jacob Vehicle Systems in Bloomfield, Conn. Union members have rallied with their bargaining committee and practicing walking the picket line, with 98% in favor of calling a strike if a satisfactory deal can’t be reached. On Thursday, Sept. 25, UAW members held practice pickets outside the factory on Dudley Town Road.
In 2022 Cummins acquired Jacob Vehicle Systems (JVS), maker of the “Jake Brake” into its portfolio. The Jake Brake was actually invented by Clessie Cummins, founder of Cummins. JVS makes engine braking, cylinder deactivation, start and stop and thermal management technologies and was acquired from Alta Industrial Motion Corp as part of a deal that would secure engine components qualified under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Profits have soared at Cummins/JVS. In 2024 alone, the company recorded $8.4 billion in gross profits and $3.9 billion in net income, paid out $21.9 million to its CEO, and distributed $969 million to shareholders. Meanwhile, workers’ wages have stagnated, topping out at $26 per hour.
Follow Workers Voice CT on Facebook to get updates on practice pickets and how to show solidarity should the workers decide to shut down production.
Chicago Teamsters strike Mauser over unsafe conditions, wages, and immigration protections
Members of Teamsters Local 705 at Mauser Packaging Solutions have been on strike since June 9. Mauser, a multi-national company with roughly $5 billion in revenue, reconditions industrial containers that hold dangerous chemicals like acetone. Newly released videos on Local 705’s Facebook page “show clouds of dust, smoke, and fumes engulfing the filthy warehouse. Visible fumes rise out of barrels of hydrofluoric acid and other poisonous chemicals. Orange clouds are pumped out of the warehouse and into Chicago’s airspace. Barrels are positioned near clear structural hazards like cracked walls and damaged pillars. These images confirm what striking Mauser Teamsters have charged: that Mauser is putting its workers’ in daily, direct danger.”
Workers are shutting down production to demand not only safer working conditions and better wages but also protections against ICE raids without juridical warrants.
Despite not costing the company a dime, Mauser has refused to agree to common sense protections for its workers. Since the start of the Chicago strike, the Teamsters union has expanded picketing at Mauser in Los Angeles and in Minnesota.
Labor disputes between Mauser and Teamster members started in Seattle in April when 20 members of Teamsters Local 117 were locked out after the company sent an unacceptable final offer to the union negotiating team. The workers remain locked out and fighting for their jobs.
“Mauser tried to push us out instead of bargaining fairly,” said Brian Perfitt, a locked-out Teamster at ICS and member of Local 117. “Now they’re trying the same thing in Chicago—but they’re not just fighting one group of Teamsters. They’re up against the entire Teamsters Union.”
UAW members in Ohio and Kentucky ratify contract gains at GE Aerospace
Some 600 members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) at GE Aerospace returned to work in Ohio and Kentucky last week after ratifying a contract by 82% following a three-week strike. UAW announced on their website, “After a long and challenging path, your bargaining committee is proud to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with the Company! This five-year agreement delivers significant wins for our members, including: Minimum Workforce Guarantee to protect our jobs and future. $3,500 in cash payments to help offset rising healthcare costs. Additional personal time for all members. Vacation time increases to provide members with more time off. No changes to our grievance or strike language—our protections remain strong.”
UAW members walked off the job after nearly a month of negotiations failed to reach a tentative agreement. UAW workers at the factory in Evendale, Ohio, halted their production of high-temperature engine components for military and commercial use. In Erlanger, Ky., the union workers shut down the production of aircraft engine parts, as well as closing the distribution center for GE Aerospace commercial hardware.
During the strike, the UAW released a statement saying, “Between 2022 to 2024, GE Aerospace has reaped record profit surpassing $17 billion and over $16 billion in shareholder distributions. Notably, a 5-year deal meeting the workers’ demands to maintain their current health care with no premium increases, strengthen job security, and add more time off, would cost GE just $75 million—which is only 1% of its 2024 profits.”
UNITE HERE hotel workers in Philadelphia take on the bosses
About 98% of the UNITE HERE Local 274 members working at the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Philadelphia voted to authorize a strike. The Sheraton is the largest of Philadelphia’s unionized hotels and is the at the center of contract negations that will feature eight other union hotels, totaling around 1000 workers. Workers at the Hampton Inn Center City-Convention Center approved their own strike authorization vote on Thursday, Sept. 25.
A strike across all eight hotels could hamstring the industry as the city looks to capitalize on tourism. “Next year, tourism is going to bring in over a billion dollars to our region,” said Sheraton room attendant Francine Eason. “Before all that money comes in, we need to make sure we’re getting our fair share.”
The room attendants, cooks, bartenders, banquet staff, dishwashers, front desk, and servers who make up the membership at the Sheraton have already waited over a year for a new contract and are tired of the hotel industry dragging their feet. The key to successful hotel strikes has always been mobilizing the striking power of the largest amount of workers possible across the industry. This was demonstrated by the UNITE HERE San Francisco hotel strike in September 2024, when 2500 hotel workers across the city at the Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton threw a wrench into the works of the hospitality industry.
Los Angeles budget woes put city workers in a tight spot
Labor unions representing municipal workers in Los Angeles made concessions to prevent layoffs. The agreements include up to a week of voluntary furlough days. The LA City Coalition of Unions and Engineers and Architects Association agreed to take “unpaid holidays” in 2026 to prevent 300 layoffs. Pressured by a $1 billion budgetary gap—largely due to Trump’s cuts in federal spending via the “Big Beautiful Bill”—costs due to massive wildfires, and lower tax revenue, the city of Los Angeles threatened to layoff 1600 workers in April. The city has also faced billions of dollars in payouts due to AB 218 legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which created an extension for survivors of child sex abuse to file claims.
In April, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) launched a ULP strike, which took 50,000 city workers off the job. The County of Los Angeles stated that SEIU members would receive a “$5,000 one-time ratification bonus, a 2% cost of living adjustment (COLA) and $2,000 bonus in year two(effective 10/1/26), and a 5% COLA in year three of the contract (effective 10/1/27).”
At the same time, LA County officials put the blame for future social program cuts on the union workers, stating, “Funding this tentative labor agreement will require making budget cuts that will affect some programs. These sacrifices will be necessary to avoid a structural deficit as we move to provide fair compensation for our workforce in these difficult times.”
While municipal workers are being pressed around modest wage increases, the city is showing its real priorities by giving $2.62 billion to land developers for the expansion of the L.A. Convention Center ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Historically, infrastructure projects like stadiums and convention centers funded by public tax dollars are a boon for private investors and city officials who receive kickbacks while driving municipal budgets deeper in debt.
