The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

Sound on Mound!

Mar 4, 2013

Determined workers from Chrysler’s Warren Stamping plant organized a spirited protest outside their Mound Road factory on February 28.

Despite icy winds and freezing temperatures, a few dozen Warren Stamping workers along with workers from three other Chrysler factories – Sterling Heights Stamping, Jefferson Assembly, and Warren Truck – expressed their opposition to new work schedules. Many other Chrysler workers blasted their horns in loud shows of support as they drove by.

The “Awful [Alternate] Work Schedules” (AWS) will have a harsh impact on workers’ family lives and health.

Top UAW leaders and the Chrysler Corporation teamed up to implement the AWS which will mean a workday stretched to 10½ hours, four days a week, without any overtime pay. With this schedule, the company gets maximum production for minimum overtime cost.

While the hated schedules still will start in March, workers’ morale was lifted by a chance to make an irreverent and public show of opposition.