I've worked for General Motors for 25 years. I'm on strike because we're done sacrificing.

On Sunday at 11:59 p.m., I went on strike. As a member of United Automobile Workers Local 909 I joined 48,000 of my UAW-GM brothers and sisters in fighting to maintain middle-class wages and to provide a better path for temporary employees to have permanent status, affordable health care and — particularly important — job security.

Being in a union is about strength through unity. When the decision is made to strike, it is a last resort. It’s not an easy decision. But it’s a decision that’s not made by one; it’s made by all.

This strike is affecting our families and rippling through our communities. To us, it’s clear the American middle class is being wiped out. When we strike, we are striking for ourselves, our family and the future of American manufacturing, which is under attack.

Over the past few days, we’ve seen GM's allies try to distort the facts. It’s time we set the record straight.

Every auto worker sacrifices

The reality of my job and the jobs of nearly all auto workers is that we’ve had to sacrifice. Ten years ago, employees gave up a fair wage and benefits to save GM, the automotive industry and, with it, the American economy.

Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors whose father worked for 39 years as a GM union auto worker, probably doesn’t recognize the auto worker of today.

When she grew up, she probably witnessed her father go to the same plant day in and day out, making enough to put food on the table without thinking twice, never wondering whether she would be forced to move to a new state or watch her dad get laid off.

Patrick Anderson on the picket line in Warren, Michigan, on Sept. 17, 2019.
Patrick Anderson on the picket line in Warren, Michigan, on Sept. 17, 2019.

She probably never experienced what my child experienced in my 25 years in the auto industry with GM. Because I have had to work in six plants in three states, my family has moved twice, and my child has changed schools and watched her father worry about what uncertainty was going to come next thanks to GM. I can’t help but think that maybe if her family had to experience what my family has gone through, then maybe she would be handling the workforce decisions differently.

Demanding what our children deserve: My daughter's teacher is on strike. As a mom, I stand on the picket line with her.

The fact is that when GM was down, we sacrificed. Now that GM is thriving, the company is trying to hurt us with reduced wages, cuts to health care and fewer benefits.

Bailouts for business, not workers

Don’t forget: GM received a bailout from taxpayers 10 years ago. Last year, after $11.8 billion in profits, it received a $104 million federal tax refund. We've faced years without wage increases, and many of my UAW brothers and sisters suffer from reduced retirement benefits and an end to cost-of-living wage increases, making them and their families vulnerable. Is that what making America great again means?

While GM creates new investments in China and Mexico, American workers are being laid off, rehired, reassigned and transferred — grasping at any offer so that we don’t lose our jobs or the ability to support our families.

When GM made $35 billion in profits over the past three years in North America, we were told four plants in Michigan and Ohio, including my current GM plant, the Warren Transmission plant in Warren, Michigan, would be “unallocated” — a fancy word for closed. Now, my family is forced to consider yet another move, yet another job transfer.

Going on strike punishes students: My special needs students needed their teachers in the classroom — not on the picket line

This is the reality of being an autoworker today.

This strike is about fighting for job security, it’s about fighting for fair pay for a hard day's work and, most important, it’s about fighting for the future of America and our way of life.

Next time you meet a union worker or pass a picket line, remember these workers represent the best of America. Whether they are your neighbor, friend or family member — now is the time to stand together and support them.

A strike is not an easy decision; it’s a sacrifice. I will continue to stand with my UAW brothers and sisters until we know that GM stands with us.

Patrick Anderson is a UAW Local 909 member and a skilled tradesman at GM’s Warren Transmission facility in Warren, Michigan.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: General Motors strike: GM is fat, happy on the back of union workers