06/09/2026
Today, this letter on job security and Secured Employment Levels (SEL) ran in the Washington Post.
For those who may not know, SEL was one of the strongest job security protections ever negotiated in our union contracts. During the bankruptcy era, much of that language was gutted. The result has been years of uncertainty, plant closings, outsourcing, and workers wondering if their jobs will still be there tomorrow.
It is time to fight for SEL once again.
The companies will not give us meaningful job security voluntarily. They will fight it. They may even force us to strike for it. But some things are worth fighting for. Just look at the gains won by the Screen Actors Guild when they stood together and demanded protections for their future.
We have approximately two years before the next major test of our solidarity. We should use that time wisely.
I am issuing a Strike Challenge to every UAW member.
I understand not everyone works for the Big Three, but for anyone with a contract expiring in the coming years, I challenge you to begin setting aside $100 per week.
For Big Three members, saving $100 a week from now until May 1, 2028, would build a strike fund of roughly $10,000. Combined with strike pay, that gives us the ability to stay strong if we are forced to walk the line.
The companies count on workers living paycheck to paycheck. They count on fear. They count on us being unable to endure a long fight. Let's prove them wrong. If we can stay united and hold the line for three months, we can win the language needed to secure our futures, protect our jobs, and strengthen our union for the next generation.
The time to prepare is not when a strike is called. The time to prepare is now.
Solidarity isn't just a word—it's a plan.
In, Solidarity
Protect workers from AI
Regarding the June 4 online Early Brief “When AI comes for your job”:
As the auto industry rushes to adopt artificial intelligence and advanced automation, it is not addressing the human cost. Americans have seen this script before. Workers watched grocery stores roll out self-checkouts, turning customers into unpaid cashiers and erasing frontline jobs. Americans also saw the Screen Actors Guild draw a line in the sand, striking until it secured historic protections against AI exploitation. The auto industry is at a similar crossroads right now. If companies refuse to protect autoworkers’ jobs, unions must demand corporation-wide secured employment levels. Under this framework, if AI or advanced automation eliminates jobs at one facility, corporations must be contractually obligated to offset those losses with new investments and products at new greenfield U.S. facilities.
Congress is ignoring the economic repercussions of AI on the American working class. Workers urgently need federal protection from tech-driven displacement. Until Congress acts on this new technology in a meaningful way, unions must step up and make job security in the age of AI their top priority. Technology should be a tool that elevates workers, not a weapon used to discard them.
Tony Totty, Toledo
The writer is president of UAW Local 14.
