Julian Electric Workers File for Union with UAW, Meet in Chicago Sat.
The Facts -
- Julian Electric workers filed for a union election and hold a mass meeting Saturday.
- 350 workers signed cards to form a union with the UAW against anti-union efforts.
- Workers demand respect and fair treatment, citing unfair firings and poor conditions.
Press Conference and Mass Meeting for Unionizing Workers
WHAT: Press Conference and One-on-one Availability after Mass Meeting
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 24, Noon
WHERE: UAW Local 551, 13550 S Torrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60633
Workers at a parts plant near Chicago have filed for a union election and will hold a mass meeting on Saturday at a union hall on Chicago’s Southeast Side. A supermajority of the 350 workers at Julian Electric, Inc., in Lockport, Ill., have signed union authorization cards to form a union with the UAW.
Julian Electric, which supplies parts to Ford, Navistar, and other Fortune 500 manufacturers, has launched an aggressive anti-union campaign against its largely immigrant workforce.
“We are fighting together for respect,” said Gabriela Morales, a worker at Julian Electric. “We do the work here and deserve a voice. By winning our union we will make ourselves heard!”
On Thursday at 10 a.m., a delegation of workers delivered a letter to Julian Electric’s human resources office asking the company to voluntarily recognize their union. Later that day, the workers filed a request for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board to move forward with a vote if Julian Electric refuses their request.
The Julian Electric workers will hold their mass meeting on Saturday at UAW Local 551 in Chicago. UAW Local 551 members work at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, and the Ford Explorers they manufacture use parts from Julian Electric.
“We are all autoworkers,” said Gilbert Foust, a Ford worker and organizer with Local 551. “Julian Electric workers deserve more money and respect, and members of Local 551 will do everything we can to ensure they win their union and fair share.”
“We are human beings, not machines, and it’s time Julian Electric treated us that way,” said Aimee Piña, a union supporter at Julian Electric recently fired by the company. “I was fired for supporting a coworker who was fired unfairly. If we speak up about the heat in the plant—it is so hot some people faint—or the lack of respect, we are fired. We need our union to be heard.”
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