United Auto Workers union president Gary Jones is promising the rank-and-file that they will fight for better contracts in upcoming negotiations with Fiat Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
Over 900 delegates converged in Cobo Centre in Detroit this week to set the union’s bargaining priorities for the next four years at the UAW Special Bargaining Convention.
Jones, earlier this week, announced the union's strike pay was increasing from $200 to $250 per week and will go up to $275-dollars a week in January, hinting work stoppages could be part of their bargaining tactics.
Speaking at the convention, Jones called the stakes this year "especially high.
"We will do what we need to do. We will use every ounce of our leverage, every last ounce," he says. "We are here to protect our workers, our workforce and our way of life. In order to do that, we will use every last ounce of leverage."
The UAW represents 156,000 workers at Fiat Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
The contract covering the workers expires at midnight on September 14th.