COVID 19 Update UAW President Rory Gamble April 14, 2020
My Brothers and Sisters,
I am very pleased to share some positive news today that, once again, speaks to how our UAW family is stepping up to help out during this worldwide crisis.
As we all know, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is critical to keeping our frontline health care workers and others safe from infection as they care for others and keep our communities functioning. Yesterday, we announced that the UAW, working with Ford Motor Company, has taken another step in responding to the COVID-19 crisis by shifting more production to face masks for medical use, PPE and respirators. Our UAW Ford members continue to volunteer to report to work during this difficult time as we expand at the facility across from Flat Rock, Michigan to make respirators. And UAW Ford members are continuing to make face masks for medical use at the Van Dyke Transmission Plant.
We are working very closely with Ford to ensure that stringent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines go above and beyond to provide the necessary protections for these members who are proudly volunteering to serve their communities and their nation.
I also have sad news today. Two members from FCA Warren Truck out of Local 140 passed from the virus. One member passed on April 3 and a brother passed on April 12. We also had a death at Chelsea Proving Grounds on April 9. On behalf of myself and the entire International Executive Board (IEB), our prayers and support go out to their families and communities.
In other news today, we have seen membership in our union grow for this reporting period. Our ranks increased by 3,125 members between December 2018 and December 2019. Much of the growth was in non-automotive sectors including gaming, healthcare and legal services.
I know that there are a lot of questions and concerns about work status and what the next few weeks will bring. We continue to work tirelessly with companies in all our sectors to keep our members and communities safe and to plan for the coming weeks as we all work through this together. I will have more on this in the coming days.
As always, please stay safe, support one another and continue to adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV.
For more updates and questions that you may have about your worksite, visit https://uaw.org/coronavirus/.
Remember, we are all in this together.
In solidarity,
Rory L. Gamble
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