UAW president urges workers to authorize strike • Racism accusations at orchard • Woodward Dream Cruise

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - United Auto Workers Union President Shawn Fain was not mincing words in a Facebook Live stream to his over 400,000 active members Tuesday night.

Fain urged them to authorize a strike during a vote next week.

"We are 30 days away and the clock is ticking," he said. "This is our generation’s defining moment and make no mistake management’s watching. The Big 3 CEOs are watching, the White House is watching."

This comes two weeks after union leadership presented their demands for a new contract to the Big Three with only a month left on the current deal.

The UAW has been pushing for a 46 percent wage hike over four years - with 20 percent of that coming upfront, blaming inflation. 

"GM has responded to our demands by saying that our demands for fair wages, cost of living, retirement security and more paid time-off are a threat to our collective future," Fain said. "Stellantis even went further. COO Mark Stewart wrote a patronizing letter to our members saying we need to tone down our demands in the name of 'economic realism.'"

Stellantis responded to the Union in a statement sent to Fox 2 saying quote:

"The discussions between the Company and the UAW’s bargaining team continue to be constructive and collaborative with a focus on reaching a new agreement that balances the concerns of our 43,000 employees with our vision for the future – one that better positions the business to meet the challenges of the U.S. marketplace and secures the future for all of our employees, their families and our company."

GM management is also weighing in by saying:

"We've been working hard with the UAW every day to ensure we get this agreement right for all our stakeholders. We know that our U.S. economic impact supports more than 6 jobs for every job created by GM. We take that responsibility very seriously, and we continue to bargain in good faith each day to support our team members, our customers, the community and the business."

The union is working to protect jobs during the transition to electric vehicles but it says rank-and-file members are getting lost in the heat of corporate competition.

Many have been working in "critical status" the UAW says, on the job 90 days straight with 12-hour shifts and no days off.

"The Big 3 are not only robbing us of our profits, they are robbing us of our lives and our health," Fain said. "We’re literally being worked to death."

Read more here

Accusations of racism at Erie apple orchard

A dispute at an apple orchard in the city of Erie has spilled over into a lawsuit after a Muslim man who visited with his family to pick peaches was accused of stealing from the business. "Every Muslim comes in here steals from me," Steve Elzinga told Joe Mahmoud at the Erie Orchards and Cider Mill.

When Mahmoud told him that it was racist to say that, Elzinga said "of course I am." It was one of several moments of dialogue caught on Mahmoud's cell phone during his visit to the orchard on Sunday. 

The situation escalated further when after Mahmoud's family went picking, Elzinga approached their truck and starts going through his daughter's bag. 

In an interview with FOX 2, the owner said "I blew it" after the experience unfolded. "Obviously, a lot of my customers are Muslims, and they are not all thieves," he said. "But there is a contingent that come here and feels for some reason, they can pick free. He was one of them."

Read the full story here.

No traffic barrels during Woodward Dream Cruise

One of Metro Detroit's most iconic traditions returns this weekend when classic cars return to Woodward Avenue. Despite a summer of traffic barrels and lane closures on M-1, come the Woodward Dream Cruise on Aug. 18-19 there will be no signs of road construction. 

For much of the summer, Woodward Avenue in Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge have been under construction as crews work on trimming the roadway down by a lane each direction. The two cities have allocated funding to install a protected bike lane, reduce lanes for cars and trucks, and also move up portions of the road to make turning onto Woodward easier.

The work is expected to be completed this fall. A spokesperson for the Downtown Development Authority in Ferndale previously told FOX 2 there will be no construction from Friday through Sunday.

"The goal is that all of the Woodward corridor will be cleaned up for the dream cruise," said Sommer Realy.

Read our Woodward Dream Cruise guide here.

Landbank welcomes 135 new homeowners

It was a monumental day in Detroit as the land bank authorized its thousandth deed on Tuesday when 135 of them were issued to new homeowners. That includes Ricky Palmer who now owns a home that was once owned by his family.

"My people owned it a long time ago. It overlapped, so I went to the Land Bank to get the house back," Palmer said. "So I finally got it back after three years."

But before participants of the buyback program receive their deed, there’s work to do - like completing a year of homebuyer counseling courses and saving up money to pay their summer tax bill. The buy back program provides a pathway to homeownership for people living in houses owned by Detroit Land Bank.

"When we first launched buy back as a pilot in 2016 we were entering into unchartered territory," said Tammy Daniels, Detroit Land Bank Authority. "The success of this program is unprecedented. Not just here in Detroit but across the country."

Learn more here

MSU to authorize alcohol sales at 4 football games

Michigan State University is planning on selling alcohol at four of its football games for the upcoming season. 

The Board of Trustees made the recommendation this week as it sought to update an ordinance by removing restrictive language as it relates to the consumption and possession of alcohol at Spartan Stadium, the Breslin Center, Munn Ice Arena, Old College Field, and Secchia Stadium.

Booze will be available for sale during college football games on Sept. 16 and 23, as well as Oct. 21, and Nov. 4. Those are home games against Washington, Maryland, University of Michigan, and Nebraska. 

Selling alcohol at college sporting events became a reality in Michigan recently after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation that allowed some universities to issue liquor licenses at some of their venues. 

Read more here.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

It's going to be a foggy start Wednesday before temperatures rise and the sun comes out. 

What else we're watching

1. Four suspects are sought in a police investigation by Dearborn after the men vandalized a golf course, causing thousands of dollars of damage. You can see them here.
2. Mootz Pizzeria in Detroit is donating a portion of proceeds from sales of its Hawaiian and Spicy Hawaiian pizzas to a relief foundation following wildfires in the island state tore through historic towns and killed more than a hundred people.
3. There are other labor disputes besides the one around autoworkers. There's grad students at the University of Michigan and now the teamsters at the Detroit Medical Center, where lab assistants will rally Wednesday for a fair contract at Detroit Medical Center.
4. Miguel Cabrera homered again during the Tiger's game against the Twins. It was his 509th homer, which ties him for 26th on the all-time list. He is two home runs behind Mel Ott for 25th all time.
5. Michigan could play a key role in the upcoming state investigation out of Georgia, where a grand jury indicted Donald Trump and 18 others in a large racketeering probe. Read more here.

United Airlines pilot cuts Maui vacation short, flies tourists off island amid wildfires

When duty called, Captain Vince Eckelkamp of Colorado didn't think twice about answering.

The pilot for United Airlines was vacationing in Maui with his family last week when the devastating wildfires erupted on the island.

As fate would have it, the airline needed a pilot to fly more than 300 people off the island back to the U.S. mainland, so Eckelkamp stepped up to the plate to help out. 

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