The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 71/No. 35      September 24, 2007

 
On the Picket Line
 
Kia contract workers
end sit-down strike
Contract workers at Kia Motors Corp.’s main production plant south of Seoul, south Korea, ended a more than weeklong occupation of the paint shop, the Associated Press reports.

The workers—employed by some 20 different companies contracted by Kia—were demanding higher wages, job security, and equal working conditions with full-time workers. The sit-down strike shut down production for a day and slowed it down for another six workdays.

Meanwhile, after rejecting a company contract offer August 24, the union representing 45,000 workers at Hyundai Motors approved an offer September 7 that includes a 5.8 percent wage increase. Hyundai is Kia’s parent company.

—Paul Pederson

Auto workers strike bus plant
in New York state
Nearly 400 workers at a bus manufacturing plant owned by DaimlerChrysler near Utica, New York, went on strike September 6. The main issues involved are wages, benefits, and job security.

The workers are members of United Auto Workers Local 2243. Their contract expired August 31, and workers rejected two contract proposals, the Utica Observer-Dispatch reported.

A 1998 strike at the same plant under different management lasted 19 days.

—Paul Pederson  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home