Both of Pennsylvania’s Democratic U.S. senators were quick to back striking auto workers Friday, issuing statements of support soon after about 13,000 members of the United Auto Workers union staged a walkout against all three of Detroit’s biggest car makers.
The union is demanding better wages and benefits. Their contracts with the so-called Big 3 expired Thursday, and a prolonged strike could have significant impact on the U.S. economy.
“Last year, the CEOs of the Big 3 made a combined $74 million. Yet these same CEOs are now claiming they cannot afford to pay the UAW workers who bust their asses every day,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said in a statement. “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry — it would be laughable if there weren’t so many hard-working people getting hurt by these CEOs’ greed.”
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., noted past concessions made by workers and federal support for the industry when it was near collapse in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
“When the auto industry was struggling, UAW members voluntarily reduced their benefits to help these companies survive, and when the industry collapsed during the financial crisis, taxpayers bailed them out,” Mr. Casey said in a statement. “Now as business is booming, profits are sky-high, and CEOs are being rewarded with double-digit raises, suddenly the Big 3 are claiming that the well has dried up.”
“Striking is always a last resort for workers, who risk losing their health care and may never make up the wages lost,” he added. “I stand in solidarity with the United Auto Workers as they fight for their fair share.”
Western Pennsylvania’s Republican House lawmakers had yet to publicly weigh in on the strike Friday afternoon.
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, also supported the striking workers, and rejected claims by executives that meeting their demands would imperil the companies.
“Workers’ demands for fair pay + dignity don’t bankrupt companies or collapse industries,” Ms. Lee said on Twitter. “But CEOs hoarding billions in bonuses for themselves & handouts for their richest investors absolutely do.”
First Published: September 15, 2023, 6:13 p.m.
Updated: September 16, 2023, 7:09 p.m.
