DeepSummary
The episode features an interview with Teddy Ostrow and Maximilian Alvarez from The Real News Network, discussing the ongoing strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) against the Big Three automakers - General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis. They explain the reasons behind the strike, which include demands for better wages, benefits, and working conditions, as well as addressing issues like the elimination of wage and benefit tiers, the right to strike over plant closures, and ensuring a just transition to electric vehicle production.
Ostrow and Alvarez provide insights into the UAW's new leadership under Shawn Fain, who was elected through a democratic process, and the union's efforts to rebuild trust and militancy among its members after years of concessions and corruption scandals. They also discuss the broader implications of the strike for the American labor movement and the importance of solidarity among workers.
The guests highlight the significance of the UAW's "stand-up strike" strategy, which involves strategically targeting specific plants rather than calling for a full-scale walkout, thereby maximizing leverage and minimizing financial strain on the union's strike fund. They encourage listeners to support the strike and other labor struggles through various means, emphasizing the importance of building class consciousness and a broader movement for economic and social justice.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has launched a strategic "stand-up strike" against the Big Three automakers - General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis - targeting specific plants rather than calling for a full-scale walkout.
- The strike demands include higher wages, better benefits, the elimination of wage and benefit tiers, the right to strike over plant closures, and ensuring a just transition to electric vehicle production.
- The UAW's new leadership under Shawn Fain, who was elected through a democratic process, has focused on rebuilding trust and militancy among the union's members after years of concessions and corruption scandals.
- The strike is part of a broader resurgence in labor activism and strikes across various industries in the United States, reflecting growing frustration among workers with stagnant wages, poor working conditions, and corporate greed.
- The guests encourage solidarity and support for the strike and other labor struggles, emphasizing the importance of building class consciousness and a broader movement for economic and social justice for all working people.
- The strike's outcome could have significant implications for the future of the American labor movement, particularly in the context of the transition to electric vehicle production and the need for a just transition that protects workers' rights and standards.
- The episode highlights the historical significance of the UAW's actions, drawing parallels with the sit-down strikes that helped build the union and the broader labor movement in the past.
- The guests emphasize the need for continued organizing efforts, both within existing unions and in non-unionized workplaces, to create a more cohesive sense of class consciousness and challenge the dominant narratives propagated by mainstream media and corporate interests.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “You know, but what I want to emphasize is that this right here, this is the historical froth from which a socialist movement can be born, by which I mean a movement of working people that fights for working people and believes the people who make, you know, society run should run society.“ by Maximilian Alvarez
- “People are angry. It's like a revolving door. It's not a career anymore. It's a job. They want us to buy fords, but how can we buy a Ford on this pay, end quote?“ by Brandon Sesniak (UAW worker)
- “This is a very unique time. It's a unique strategy and being used by the union. They're launching what they're calling stand up strikes, which is hearkening back to the union sit down strikes of 1936 and 1937, which your listeners may be familiar with. These are the actions that really built this union, which would itself go on to really propel the rest of the labor movement forward after World War two.“ by Teddy Ostrow
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Episode Information
Revolutionary Left Radio
Revolutionary Left Radio
9/19/23
Teddy Ostrow and Maximillian Alvarez from The Real News Network join Breht to discuss the recent "stand up" strike launched by the United Auto Workers labor union. Teddy and Max discuss the strike, explain the causes of the strike and the demands of the workers, the UAW union president Shawn Fain and the democratic election that put him in leadership, what this strike - and others like it - mean for the American working class, the importance of solidarity in the labor movement and beyond, why the working class should own what it produces, and much more!
Teddy's Interview with UAW President Shawn Fain
Labor Notes