October 13, 2023

S3E39: UAW History, U.S. President and The Big Three

1 hour 13 minutes

On the balance, have labor unions benefited American labor? The history of UAW is the story of labor demanding a share of the profits. It's the story of how presidents and politics impact private labor contracts. It's also the story of a corruption scandal at a union with a reputation for high integrity.

What compels union leaders to call a strike? And why do unions strike so often? Actually, the premise of the second question here is incorrect. As Dr. Marick Masters of Wayne State University's Mike Ilitch School of Business, HbN's guest for this subject, explains in our podcast, the notes for which are provided below, in the manufacturing and related sectors union strike activity has significantly diminished in recent decades in comparison to the 1950s and '60s. But the struggle has been the same - the demand that companies treat similar to other equity partners. While this episode is mostly about the United Auto Workers (UAW), as you will note, Dr. Masters, who has been involved in high-level labor negotiations, will shed light on the broader union history in the US and Europe and draw comparisons between UAW and other unions.

In this episode, Dr. Masters discusses many fascinating topics, including the following:

The struggle of UAW's founding years.

Unions in WWII - the Arsenal of Democracy.

Predictably adversarial - the fraught relationship between UAW and the Big Three.

The call for labor to be treated similarly to other equity partners.

What compels union leaders to call a strike?

Union negotiations and agreements, local and national

Have strikes in the auto industry decreased in the late 20th century?

Corruption at the UAW told through Dr. Masters' book The UAW: An Iconic Union Falls in Scandal

How do unions make money anyway? Dr. Masters has written a book about it, Trade Union Finance: How Labor Organizations Raise and Spend Money.

Is the UAW fundamentally different than other unions?

How US Presidents have responded to union strikes?

On the balance, have labor unions benefited American labor?

Is UAW's strike a big deal in Detroit? Now, in 2023?

For more details on this episode, including fast facts, history highlights, images and more, read my post on HbN's site.

Unions in Starbucks, Amazon & more:

Last year when Amazon and Starbucks workers went on strike, and when it looked like employees at Trader Joe's and Microsoft may also strike, I spoke with Dr. Kate Bronfenbrenner about the history of labor unions in the U.S.

She shared the history of unions in the service industries, such as healthcare and hospitality. And she told me how the history of America's labor unions is tightly intertwined with the history of immigration.

Dr. Bronfenbrenner also enlightened me about a point I hadn't appreciated before - that unions also fight to protect the climate.

You can listen to that episode here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E23s

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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