'Not even crumbs' UAW GM workers concerned as paychecks end amid strike
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Tonight a letter from the UAW leadership to members indicated all proposals have moved to the Main Table and it was waiting for a response from General Motors.
While talks progress, UAW members are concerned. The work stoppage feels very different when you look at it this way - zero gross pay - zero net pay - zero earnings.
"This is taking a toll on a lot of people," said Taja Fisher, a UAW GM worker.
"I'm a single mom with two kids and I just moved," said Dominique Redic, UAW GM worker. "I am trying to make ends meet and now that I am not getting a check anymore and making $250 a week, that is not even peanuts - that's crumbs."
FOX 2 abandoned the picket line for Legends Coney Island to get a taste of what real life is like for these workers without normal pay - or normal circumstances. Taja Fisher applied for a transfer before the strike. She's not sure how she'll pay for the move without moving expenses covered.
"I am supposed to be traveling to Arlington, Texas with no relocation funds," said Taja Fisher. "I don't know how I am going to do it. I was told yesterday that if I don't report, I would be fired from General Motors.
Taja Fisher and Dominique Redic exemplify a tale of two UAW workers. One is a temporary worker, the other is not. They are fighting for the same thing - a fair contract and their families.
"It means a lot they're coming to support, because at some point, they started where I am," said Redic. "So the more they fight with us, our chances are greater."
About 4,100 temporary workers are thought to be a major sticking point. A point touching raw personal emotion because full time workers like Fisher have been there.
"I'll never forget 2012 I got the phone call that when I return to work that morning, I was permanent. I just broke out in tears," Fisher said. "It gives me chills because it was a (long time) to get where I am at right now."
On Wednesday the picket line drew Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
"We need an economy that works for working people, not just for billionaires," Sanders said.
GM went public with what it was offering - including $7 billion in investments over the course of the contract and adding 5,400 jobs. But other topics still reign supreme as the negotiations continue.