A Conversation with the UAW and Their Battle to Save the Middle Class

10/29/23 • 148 min

It's no secret that the middle class is on its death march - if we allow it to happen. Michigan has a rich history when it comes to union organization. The Flint Sit Down Strike in 1936-37 was the catalyst of the organized labor movement in this country. We can thank the workers from 36-37 for the myriad of labor laws that we all enjoy today. During the bust of 2008-2009 Stellantis (Chrysler at the time) and GM filed for bankruptcy protection and took billions in a tax payer funded bailout. UAW workers also made massive concessions to help keep the companies afloat. Beginning in 2010, the Big 3 started making their profits back. Massive CEO salaries followed, but the restoration of UAW concessions did not. In this podcast, we speak with two General Motors UAW workers, Michelle Howard and Chris Facundo, about those concessions and the current fight the UAW is in with the Big 3; not only to restore those 2009 concessions and a wage that reflects their projected $32B in profit in 2023, but the revival of the labor movement in the United States and the UAWs bigger fight to save the middle class. Chris is also on the union bargaining team with UAW Local 362 in Bay City.
Episode Resources
UAW https://uaw.org/
UAW Facebook https://www.facebook.com/uaw.union
General Motors https://investor.gm.com/investor-relations
General Motors 2023 Proxy Statement https://investor.gm.com/static-files/b64a3a95-3f28-41e5-b43f-afc8a50c7ce6
UAW Automakers Negotiations https://www.epi.org/blog/uaw-automakers-negotiations/
The Strike Heard Around the World https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/february/flint-michigan-sit-down-strike
Disaster Story #13: Ohio's Long History with Lordstown Assembly https://economicaccountability.org/lordstown/
The End of the Line https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/01/magazine/lordstown-general-motors-plant.html
Lordstown's Devastating End https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/23/general-motors-factory-ohio-lordstown
The Strike Heard Around the World https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/february/flint-michigan-sit-down-strike

This podcast may contain adult language or sensitive topics and may be triggering to some. Please take this into consideration before listening.
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Previous Episode

The Continuation of The Hijacking of Ottawa County, Michigan

This podcast is a follow up to our previous podcast regarding the Hijacking of Ottawa County. If you remember from that podcast, this past May, Ottawa County’s Board of Commissioners chose to disregard the desires of the majority of Ottawa County residents and voted Ottawa County a “Constitutional County.” In essence this means – at least they believe it means – that it appoints their small group of right-wing extremists as the kings and queens of Ottawa County and allows them to rule as dictators without impunity. If you also remember from that podcast, a majority of these commissioners were newly elected this past November with the backing of the extreme right-wing group Ottawa Impact, which is part of Michigan Impact.
Today, the are attempting to oust Public Health Officer, Adeline Hambley, and dismantled the Public Health Department of Ottawa County.
In this podcast, we talk with Marcia Mansaray, the current Deputy Health Officer of Ottawa County. She unpacks the past 10 months, what got us here, and how the current board of Commissioners are truly unqualified and unschooled when it comes to their own positions and its limitations. And those are my words, not hers.
Episode Resources
Ottawa Integrity PAC (donate and support candidates who uphold democracy) https://ottawaintegrity.org/
Register to Vote https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/registervoter
Volunteer to Register & Inform Voters in Michigan
1. https://www.apiavotemi.org/volunteer
2. https://votingaccessforall.org/
WoPo Article...The Mistrust Never Ends https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/22/ottawa-county-michigan-covid-mistrust/
Keeping Up on the Issue
From Attorney Sarah Riley Howard and the firm Pinsky Smith https://www.pinskysmith.com/news/
News Links Regarding Issue (scroll sown to News section to the left for links) https://www.pinskysmith.com/people/sarah-riley-howard/

To make a tax deductable donation to our various initiatives to help Empower Great Lakers, please visit lovewhereyoulivefoundation.org/donate.

Next Episode

Walking with the Paranormal

For our October Haunted Michigan, we joined Detroit Rock City Paranormal for two paranormal investigations. Our first was at Eloise Asylum, and old abandoned asylum and hospital that has since been turned into a multi-million dollar, year-round horror attraction. The second combined two investigations: the Carnegie Museum and Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in Michigan. Both are operated by Port Huron Museums and are located in Port Huron.
In this podcast, we talk about our experiences - a few very eventful experiences - at all three locations and the activity and spirits we encountered.
Episode Resources
Detroit Rock City Paranormal https://www.detroitrockcityparanormal.com/
Port Huron Museums https://www.phmuseum.org/
Eloise Asylum https://eloiseasylum.com/
The Drowning of Harmonia Kiossain https://www.facebook.com/memoriesofeloise/photos/poor-10-year-old-harmonia-kiossain-had-been-a-patient-at-eloise-for-a-year-due-t/1534067103295063/
Memories of Eloise (includes many newspaper clippings about the hospital and patients) https://www.facebook.com/memoriesofeloise