Britney Johnson is among the thousands of Ford Motor Co. workers who went on strike to force the automaker to improve pay for all.
Tracy Brooks, an auto worker retiree is interviewed as she shows off vintage photos of her family, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Romulus, Mich. She and her father, and grandfather and daughter all worked on assembly lines for one or more of Detroit's automakers.
by the UAW to return to their jobs after the union said it reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford that would give them a 25% general wage increase, plus cost of living raises that will put the pay increase over 30%, to above $40 per hour for top-scale assembly plant workers by the end of the contract. Union members still must approve the deal.
“It meant a lot, being in the union,” Brooks said."Those were the good jobs that were available for Blacks. They knew they could go in there and work hard, make money and obtain things like homes and cars. It allowed them to have the ability to take care of their families and help to build that Black middle class.”
“Without the union jobs, can do anything, say anything and you're out the door,” she said. “At least with the union, you have some type of cushion.” Yolanda Martin, 55, is a second-generation Ford employee who has spent 34 years with the company. She said a two-tier wage system prevents newer employees from making the same financial gains as legacy autoworkers like herself and her late father, who spent 40 years at Ford.
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