United Auto Workers

The race between Josh Hawley and Lucas Kunce will take place at the same time as a measure to legalize abortion — which could boost Democratic turnout compared to the last two presidential elections.

The Wentzville facility makes seats for vehicles including ones produced at the nearby General Motors plant. Workers want improvements to pay, health and safety and other conditions.

Troy is the first Toyota plant nationally where workers have gone public with a union drive — and the latest in a string of non-union plants seeking to join the UAW after it won record contracts late last year for the Big Three.

GM employees at the Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kansas, narrowly voted to approve the contract with just 52% in favor, while the majority of workers at the Wentzville, Missouri, plant rejected the deal. Long-time workers should see pay rise by about 33%, while some newer workers and temps will see their pay more than double.

Even with pay raises of 25% and other improvements on the table, a large share of General Motors autoworkers — including at the plant in Wentzville, Missouri — are voting to reject the contract reached after a nearly seven-week strike.

Workers at the GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri, have been picketing for over 45 days, but to end the strike, union leaders and members still need to vote on the tentative deal announced Monday. Workers would get a 25% raise over almost five years.

About 100 people gathered outside of the UAW Local 31 union hall to support striking UAW workers across the nation and their own members, who were laid off due to supply chain issues caused by the strike. Despite the layoffs, workers say they’re not deterred and remain ready to strike.

A GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri, was one of the first units of United Auto Workers to go on strike. After the layoffs of 2,000 workers at the Fairfax GM plant in Kansas City, Kansas, the union is only escalating its efforts.

Between auto workers, Hollywood, and baristas, it seems like workers are walking out on the job more often this year. Experts say wealth inequalities, inflation and a cultural shift in expectations from jobs are contributing to a more active labor movement.

The members of United Auto Workers Local 2250 were the first employees of General Motors to go on strike. On Sunday, the picket line was joined by Democratic U.S. Reps. Cori Bush of St. Louis County and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

The United Auto Workers could expand its strike against the Big 3 automakers, as the union ramps up pressure amid tough negotiations over a new contract. This week, General Motors temporarily laid off most of the 2,000 unionized workers at its assembly plant in Kansas City, Kansas.

General Motors had previously warned it would need to stop production at its Fairfax, Kansas, assembly plant, because it relied on parts that came from a Missouri plant that is currently on strike.