Using the 75th anniversary of the Flint Sit-Down Strike as a backdrop, UAW Bob King vowed on Friday that the union would use nationwide protests as a way to take America back from “right-wing Republicans” and “one-percenters”.
Unlike the UAW’s typical protests, the ones promised by King won’t be focused on a specific automaker but rather a greater ideal. King cited universal health care and “economic and social justice” as reasons to organize demonstrations.
“It will take direct action. It will take us being willing to face arrest. It will take us being willing to be part of marches and demonstrations,” King said at an event honoring the end of the 1937 strike against General Motors, according to The Detroit News. “They are attacking democracy in America. They are attacking the labor movement.”
King said the movement’s first priority would be to re-elect President Barack Obama, but added it’s “not just about getting someone elected.”
King’s attack of the so-called “one-percenters” is somewhat ironic considering his compensation. Although the UAW doesn’t release its president’s pay, it was revealed last year that King’s predecessor, Ron Gettelfinger, took home $173,065 in 2010. King also has full use of the UAW’s private Black Lake retreat in Northern Michigan which is valued at $33 million.
