The Struggle in the Auto Industry
WSWS video coverage of auto workers issues
In 2007, the World Socialist Web Site began its use of video to present coverage of the issues and struggles of auto workers. Starting with the most recent first, use the dots in the upper-right corner of the media box to scroll our gallery in reverse chronological order.
The struggle in the auto industry
Ford workers speak out against concessions contract
Flint, Michigan and the bankruptcy of General Motors
GM workers on bankruptcy and plant closings
Michigan auto workers and families speak on plant closures
GM workers speak out on concessions contract
Chrysler workers speak on concessions vote
UK Visteon workers speak on occupation
GM and Chrysler workers oppose more concessions
Chrysler workers oppose Obama auto plan
Ford workers: “Now the fight is with our own union.”
GM workers denounce concession demands
Chrysler workers oppose pay cuts, concessions
Chrysler workers denounce pay cuts
The rise and fall of Highland Park, Michigan
Kandy O'Neill speaks to the WSWS
Detroit American Axle Workers Speak on UAW Sellout
American Axle strikers denounce UAW sellout contract
Tensions mount as American Axle strike enters 10th week
American Axle strikers rally outside shareholders' meeting
UAW officials try intimidation at American Axle meeting
WSWS reporting from American Axle strike in Detroit
Jerry White reports for WSWS from American Axle strike
WSWS speaks with American Axle strikers in Detroit
WSWS at American Axle in Cheektowaga, New York
American Axle Strike in Danger
WSWS at American Axle picket line in Detroit 3/31/08
The WSWS reports from the American Axle strike in Detroit
WSWS reports from American Axle strike in Detroit
American Axle and Chrysler workers in Detroit speak out
American Axle Strikers in Detroit Defy Wage-Cut Demands
Arrests on American Axle picket line in Detroit
WSWS speaks to striking auto workers in Detroit
WSWS Interviews Striking American Axle Workers
WSWS Speaks to Ford Workers
WSWS speaks to Detroit Chrysler workers
Jim Lawrence, GM worker & 2004 SEP candidate, on GM pact
UAW Officials in Michigan Threaten Socialist Equality Party
General Motors strikers in Michigan speak to WSWS
Recent Articles on Auto from the WSWS
3 November: After workers defeat concessions demand
Ford reports $1 billion in third quarter profits
3 November: Anxious to thwart cross-border struggle
CAW rams through concessions at Ford Canada
2 November: The “No” vote at Ford
31 October: Video: Ford workers speak out against concessions contract
30 October: Opel’s future once again up for grabs
30 October: Indian auto dispute sparks mass protest, shuts Ford Canada plant
30 October: WSWS speaks to workers who exposed GM payoff to Canadian auto union
29 October: The way forward for Ford workers
28 October: Mass opposition grows
Ford workers speak out against contract
27 October: Mass opposition to Ford-UAW concessions contract
24 October: UAW says key local passed Ford contract by 51 percent
Many workers call vote a “fraud”
24 October: Russia: Workers at AvtoVaz protest against mass layoffs
21 October: Ford workers oppose UAW demand for concessions
16 October: Reject UAW-Ford concession demands
Elect rank-and-file committees to defend jobs and living standards
15 October: Swedish government to provide backing to Saab sale
14 October: Nationalist tensions deepen over Magna’s purchase bid for GM Europe
14 October: Workers expose GM payoff to Canadian auto union officials
13 October: UAW reaches new concessions agreement with Ford
9 October: GM to cut 10,500 more jobs by year’s end
8 October: Opel/Vauxhall takeover by Magna
Unions play off workers against one another
2 October: General Motors to liquidate Saturn brand
30 September: GM shuts down assembly plant in Pontiac, Michigan
22 September: Canadian Auto Workers offers concessions to Ford
22 September: Open letter to Opel and Vauxhall auto workers from German SEP candidate
21September: Britain: Asset stripping followed government bailout of MG Rover
17 September: The GM-Magna deal
German metal workers’ union backs government in geostrategic power struggle
16 September: With a green light from company trade unions
The Porsche and Piëch clans pillage Volkswagen
14 September: Following GM announcement on new talks with Magna
German auto union offers further concessions to Opel
5 September: Negotiations over future of carmaker Opel face collapse
1 September: Toyota announces closure of manufacturing plant in California
28 August: GM and Opel: the struggle for dominance in the global auto market
26 August: The bidding war for Opel and German-Russian relations
18 August: South Korea: The political lessons of the Ssangyong occupation
15 August: Maneuvers continue in GM-Opel takeover IG Metall sanctioning destruction of thousands of jobs
7 August: Korean unions end Ssangyong occupation on company terms
3 August: Germany: Management speculation threatens survival of Porsche car works
1 August: Who is Klaus Franz? The evolution of the Opel union leader
27 July: South Korea: Riot police sent to break Ssangyong occupation
23 July: Unions systematically divide Opel, GM-Europe workers
17 July: Discussion with Opel worker: “Joint resistance is necessary”
16 July: Ousted GM head gets $10 million retirement package
15 July: Germany: Opel workers oppose cuts in holiday pay
11 July: The new GM
7 July: Bankruptcy judge approves sale of GM assets
3 July: Chrysler plants reopen as assault on auto workers deepens
30 June: Organize rank-and-file committees to stop plant closings and overturn UAW concessions!
29 June: Sweden: Luxury automaker Koenigsegg announces purchase of Saab
June: The GM bankruptcy and the middle-class “left” organizations
20 June: “It’s going to be an absolute bloodbath”
Obama, Harper force bankruptcy on auto parts industry
17 June: Major banks made whole in GM bankruptcy
13 June: Video: Flint, Michigan and the bankruptcy of General Motors
11 June: Employees speak on Chrysler dealership closure
9 June: White House had long planned GM and Chrysler bankruptcies
8 June: GM plant closures devastate Detroit suburbs
6 June: The Opel fraud
Opel: Magna deal means layoffs, wage cuts and splitting of the European workforce
5 June: Video: Michigan GM workers speak on bankruptcy and plant closings
4 June: Video: Michigan auto workers and families speak on plant closures
4 June: New York Times on the UAW’s corporatism: a rewriting of history
3 June: Obama offers nothing to states, cities devastated by GM plant closures
2 June: What’s good for GM…
2 June: GM bankruptcy will devastate communities
2 June: India: Hyundai Motors victimizes workers
1 June: The GM bankruptcy
30 May: On eve of GM bankruptcy
Obama administration targets the working class
30 May: The Opel rescue plan: Who is being rescued?
30 May: Auto parts maker Visteon files for bankruptcy
29 May:Wall Street throws General Motors into bankruptcy
28 May: Video: GM workers speak out on concessions contract
26 May: Opel rescue plan: German unions offer wage cuts
23 May: UAW, Inc.
22 May: Canada’s political elite spearheads attack on GM workers
19 May: White House relies on UAW to ram through GM job cuts, concessions
19 May: SEP candidate for Detroit mayor campaigns among auto workers, city residents
16 May: Closures of US auto dealerships will cost tens of thousands of jobs
15 May: A socialist strategy for American Axle workers
15 May: Unions, Democrats sponsor reactionary “Keep it Made in America” rallies
14 May: GM Europe and the global fight for jobs
12 May: Fiat plans mass sackings and plant closures throughout Europe
9 May: Huge GM losses push automaker towards bankruptcy
8 May: Protesting Continental workers occupy Sarreguemines factory
6 May: Germany: IG Metall union backs Magna bid to acquire Opel
5 May: Chrysler, GM set the pace
Obama administration spearheads wage cuts for American workers
5 May: Chrysler bankruptcy sets stage for assault on GM workers
5 May: Chrysler, GM set the pace
Obama administration spearheads wage cuts for American workers
5 May: Chrysler bankruptcy sets stage for assault on GM workers
2 May: The Chrysler bankruptcy
May: As Chrysler shutters its factories
Workers denounce UAW concessions
1 May: Video: Chrysler workers speak on concessions vote
1 May: Chrysler declares bankruptcy
1 May: German trade union implements wage cuts at Opel
30 April: Bitter outcome of UAW sabotage of 2008 strike
Detroit American Axle plant to close
29 April: Michigan auto workers denounce Chrysler-UAW concessions
29 April: Contract betrayal will give UAW majority ownership in Chrysler
28 April: Defend jobs, wages and benefits! Vote “No” on Chrysler-UAW concessions! Oppose job cuts at GM!
27 April: Canadian Auto Workers union imposes draconian concessions on Chrysler workers
25 April: Thousands rally in Toronto against Liberals’ rescinding of pension guarantee
24 April: Chrysler could file for bankruptcy as early as next week
24 April: Chrysler Financial executives refused loans to avoid compensation caps
23 April: Defend pensions, jobs, and wages! No concessions!
Auto workers need a socialist strategy
21 April: General Motors accelerates job cuts as bankruptcy deadline approaches
21 April: Opel-General Motors breakup will mean plant closures and mass redundancies
18 April: Head of Obama’s auto task force linked to investment fraud
18 April: Canada: Conservative and Liberal governments gang up against auto workers
17 April: Visteon workers reject “derisory” redundancy offer
17 April: Germany: Union demands auto workers give up wage rise
16 April: Obama, automakers step up blackmail of GM and Chrysler workers
14 April: White House pushing GM toward bankruptcy
10 April: The deindustrialization of Detroit
9 April: The UAW’s silence
8 April: Occupations at UK Visteon plants continue despite legal threats
7 April: New York: Magna auto parts workers reject cutbacks in face of shutdown threat
4 April: Workers occupy car parts factories in England and Northern Ireland
3 April: Obama’s “Path to Viability for GM & Chrysler”: The ruthless language of Wall Street
1 April: Media backs Obama’s assault on US auto workers
1 April: Detroit auto workers denounce Obama's concession demands
31 March: Obama declares war on auto workers
31 March: Obama demands deeper cuts in auto workers’ jobs, wages, benefits
30 March: As Chrysler-Canada-CAW talks reach impasse
Workers denounce union for imposing concessions
26 March: The Opel crisis fuels divisions in Germany’s coalition government
24 March: Obama’s auto task force: a collection of Wall Street investors and asset strippers
20 March: Autoworkers end factory occupation in Windsor, Ontario
18 March: New York Times columnist who demanded concessions from auto workers, “makes case” for AIG bonuses
18 March: Britain: Unions agree cuts in hours and pay at Toyota
11 March: German union officials propose double-digit wage cuts for Opel-GM workers
10 March: Oppose Canadian Auto Workers surrender to GM
Fight all concessions and job cuts!
7 March: Germany: Blackmail tactics against Opel workers
6 March: The collapse of General Motors
6 March: Worker opposition to Ford-UAW agreement reflected in votes
6 March: Video: Ford workers say “Now the fight is with our own union.”
2 March: “A war waged by the rich against the poor”
Ford workers oppose new concessions
28 February: Day of action at Opel in Germany
The poison of trade union nationalism
28 February: British auto union leaders claim it couldn't happen in Germany
28 February: Germany: Union leaders call on workers to sacrifice to rescue Opel
26 February: Reject UAW sellout at Ford! Mobilize autoworkers to defend jobs and living standards!
26 February: Britain: An opportunist defence of the union betrayal at BMW Cowley
25 February: White House weighs bankruptcy in attack on GM, Chrysler workers
25 February: Canada: CAW vows to match UAW concessions to automakers
25 February: Swedish automaker Saab seeks bankruptcy protection
23 February: Layoffs at GM Lordstown plant ravage Ohio communities
21 February: General Motors workers speak out against pay cuts
21 February: Video: GM workers denounce concession demands
20 February: German union seeks to divide European and North American GM workers
The reactionary politics of economic nationalism
19 February: Obama’s “restructuring” plan
US automakers outline massive attack on jobs, wages
18 February: Britain: Anger boils over at union’s complicity in sacking of 850 BMW workers
17 February: Obama administration spearheads attack on auto workers
17 February: Germany: Auto supply workers to pay for investors’ losses
5 February: Retired GM worker speaks on freezing death of 93-year-old Michigan man
“They want profits or you die”
28 January: French car industry bailout: a new attack on the working class
24 January: Canadian Auto Workers union lobbies for military contracts
17 January: Canadian Auto Workers union dismantles blockade at parts plant
January: UAW accepts government ban on strikes
8 January:As global auto slump deepens
UAW opens concession talks with US automakers
7 January: General Motors cashes in on Australian car industry fund
24 December: India: Honda workers wage tenacious struggle to defend their jobs
23 December: UAW beginning talks with GM on concessions
22 December: Perspective: A union in name only
22 December: SEP holds public meeting on crisis in the auto industry
22 December: “Auto workers must resist government-corporate demand for poverty wages”
20 December: Perspective: Capitalism and the auto crisis
19 December: WSWS speaks to Chrysler workers on plant closures
19 December: Ontario auto sector report warns of catastrophic job losses
December 19: German auto parts industry hit by bankruptcies
18 December: Perspective: Why the UAW and the Democrats are pushing economic nationalism
16 December: US government bailouts: poverty wages for auto workers, trillions for bankers
15 December: A socialist policy for auto workers
13 December: White House signals aid after auto loan bill stalls in Senate
UAW agrees to more concessions
13 December: Thousands of jobs threatened in Swedish auto industry
13 December: Germany: Opel works council demands planned wage cut be kept secret
12 December: Bush, Democratic auto bailout fails in Senate, talks continue
12 December: Workers occupy auto parts plant in northern Germany
10 December: White House, Congress close to bailout deal
“Car Czar” to slash wages, jobs of US autoworkers
6 December: Crisis grips German auto industry
6 December: The Canadian auto “bailout”: CAW to impose sweeping concessions
5 December: Senate hearing sets the stage for the impoverishment of US autoworkers
2 December: UAW pledges to impose further job losses and concessions on auto workers
27 November: Michigan GM worker answers attack by New York Times columnist
27 November: Video: Kandy O'Neill speaks to the WSWS
19 November: Canadian Auto Workers union presses for bailout of auto bosses
