Last week, workers at Nexteer Automotive in Saginaw, Michigan, voted by more than 96 percent to reject a concessions contract pushed by United Auto Workers Local 699 and the UAW International. In the days since, UAW officials have kept 1,300 workers at the key auto parts supplier on the job despite the massive no vote and expiration of their five-year agreement in mid-March.

The following is a statement from the Nexteer Rank-and-File Committee, which has been formed by shop floor workers to enforce the will of the membership, organize strike action and overturn decades of UAW-backed concessions. To join the rank-and-file committee, fill out the form at the end of this statement.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

We have rejected the UAW-backed sellout contract—by 96.2 percent. This near-unanimous vote is a powerful statement of unity and determination by workers in every department, tier and age group. We rejected a deal that expands tiers, locks newer hires into poverty wages and raises healthcare costs, while Nexteer and the big automakers continue to profit from our labor.

With one voice, we are saying: We will not accept anymore sellout deals from the UAW International and their toadies in the Local 699 leadership! Now we must decide what comes next—and we must do it on our terms, not theirs. A “no” vote is only the beginning. If the same officials who brought this agreement back from closed-door “negotiations” remain in control, they will do what they always do: stall, delay and try to force revotes until they get the outcome they want.

We cannot leave power in their hands. Workers must enforce the principle of “no contract, no work” and prepare strike action now. Any delay will only give management the opportunity to stockpile parts and time to prepare its strikebreaking plans.

The most dangerous illusion we could have is that the rejection of the sellout contract will convince UAW officials to bring back something better. Their contract surveys are for show only. UAW President Shawn Fain and Local 699 officials know exactly what we want—but they are opposed to our demands because they cut across their cozy relations with the corporate bosses.

Everything depends on what we, the rank-and-file workers on the shop floor, do. We are forming the Nexteer Rank-and-File Committee to outline the concrete steps to put workers in control of the struggle. This is what we demand:

1. Hold a mass membership meeting now to vote for an immediate strike. The membership has spoken. We must enforce the will of the membership by preparing for strike action now. Nexteer and the Big Three automakers behind them will not make any concessions unless we use our collective power, halt production and cut off the source of their profits. 
2. Double strike pay to $1,000 a week to ensure we have sufficient resources to sustain our fight. The UAW’s nearly $1 billion strike and defense fund, financed through our dues money, belongs to the membership, not to the highly paid bureaucrats.
3. Remove the Bargaining Committee that brought back this pro-company contract. Elect a rank-and-file committee, consisting of the most militant and trusted workers, to oversee bargaining and fight for our non-negotiable demands, including the abolition of all tiers, fully paid pensions, healthcare benefits and inflation-busting wage increases and COLA for all.
4. Full transparency—Release all information. Every proposal, company demand and bargaining update must be reported to the membership in real time. No secrecy, no backroom deals.
5. Mass meetings and democratic oversight. Decisions must be made in regular membership meetings where workers can discuss, propose demands and vote. No intimidation, no pressure, no union bureaucrats hovering at the voting site. 
6. No return to “vote first, read later.” No tentative agreement should be brought back without the full text distributed in advance, with a full week for members to study, discuss and vote on it. Rank-and-file oversight of the ratification process to ensure the integrity of the vote.  

The UAW-backed contract we rejected would have created a new layer of “third-class employees” starting at $19.05 an hour, compared to $22.50 for current workers and $24.75 for legacy workers, with new hires reaching only $20.89 after four years. It would have more than doubled weekly healthcare contributions for post-May 2021 workers with families from $26.50 to $53.34.

Workers have said plainly: This is not a living wage. It fuels turnover, and it forces people into brutal overtime just to survive. 

The Rank-and-File Committee proposes the following minimum demands for a contract workers can accept—demands that should be discussed, expanded and voted on by the membership:

• Abolish all tiers—Equal pay and benefits for equal work. 
• Major wage increases for all and COLA to keep up with inflation—No more stagnation while executives enrich themselves. 
• A real living starting wage and a sharply reduced progression to top pay. 
• Affordable healthcare for every worker and family—No premium hikes, no doubled weekly contributions. 
• Enforceable limits on overtime and scheduling abuse, including binding notice requirements (ending contract violations like the “ninth hour” manipulation). 
• Job security and anti-outsourcing protections—Full transparency and the right to oppose shifting work to lower-wage operations. 
• Real grievance rights with enforcement, not a toothless process where the company faces no consequences. 
• Workers’ control over safety and staffing, with elected rank-and-file safety reps empowered to halt unsafe work.

We have never been in a stronger position to win these demands. We produce steering systems for most of the most profitable vehicles in North America, and a shutdown would quickly ripple through Ford, GM, Stellantis and beyond. That is exactly why the company stooges in Solidarity House do not want us to exercise our elemental right to withhold our labor.

At the same time, we cannot win this battle alone. We must appeal to Big Three workers and parts workers everywhere who have suffered decades of sellouts, including after Fain’s bogus “Stand Up Strike” in 2023. We say to our brothers and sisters throughout the industry: Refuse to handle scab parts, honor picket lines and oppose any attempt to keep production going based on our exploitation.

We understand that Nexteer will threaten to shift production to lower wage countries if we strike. That is why the Nexteer Rank-and-File Committee fights to link up with workers in Mexico, Canada, Poland and everywhere Nexteer operates. We all face the same corporate bosses and have the same interests. 

We have taken an important first step. Now we must organize our power—democratically and independently—to win the contract we need and deserve. Join the Nexteer Rank-and-File Committee, help build communication across shifts and departments, and prepare for a real fight for workers’ power.