Wednesday, September 13: Impending Auto Strike
First the rail workers, now the auto workers, who will Biden strike-break next?
Joseph Robinette Biden (falsely) claims he’s the most pro-union president in US history, but that (absurd) claim could be put to the test later this week.
The United Auto Workers is threatening to strike against the country’s three major automakers, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, if contact agreements aren’t reached by midnight tomorrow. The workers are demanding better pay and improved working conditions, which shouldn’t come as much surprise. Many of these workers can no longer afford the cars they spend all day manufacturing.
The American auto industry accounts for ~3% of the nation’s GDP and as many as 146,000 workers could walk off their jobs in the event of a strike tomorrow. While the effects would be most immediately felt in Michigan and other states with high concentrations of auto jobs (Ohio, Indiana, really the entire American Midwest) a prolonged strike could result in car shortages and layoffs in auto-supply industries and other related sectors.
As the esteemed senator from Vermont points out, weekly wages for the average American worker are actually lower than they were 50 years ago after adjusting for inflation.
“Despite a massive increase in worker productivity, despite CEOs now making nearly 400 times more than what their employees earn, despite record-breaking corporate profits, dividends and stock buybacks, average American workers are no better off than they were 50 years ago.”
- The big homie Bernard Sanders from Vermont
Personally, I’d like to see a strike not because I want to see people’s lives chaotically disrupted, but because it appears to be the only way a message is understood in today’s political landscape. If Joseph Robinette wants to lie and call himself a pro-union president, perhaps he should stand with the workers.
Side Items
Seattle Pig Scum: A police watchdog agency in Seattle is investigating cops over body-camera audio in which they laugh and joke about the death of a young woman struck and killed by a police cruiser. On January 23, Kevin Dave (a cop so untrustworthy he literally has two first names) struck and killed 23 year old Jaahnavi Kandula while driving 74 mph in a 25 mph speed zone, going nearly 50 miles over the speed limit with no flashing lights, no siren, just murderous vibes. Officer Daniel Auderer, vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, inadvertently left his body camera running after responding to the scene, and can be heard laughing at the deadly situation. Auderer has been involved in 29 incidents of misconduct and yet somehow remains the vice president of the Seattle police union. Just a few more tweaks and I’m sure that police reform will kick in any minute now
Child Poverty Rate: New census data shows that the child poverty rate in the US rose from an all-time low of 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022. The number of children in poverty dropped sharply in 2021, thanks in large part to the child tax credit in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act. The tax credit provided payments of up to $3,600 for each child under the age of 6 and $3,000 for each chid ages 6 through 17, for lower- and middle-income families. The massive jump reflects the end of this temporary child allowance and other programs meant to help families with children. This is further proof that poverty is in fact a policy choice, and by the looks of it, quite a popular one
Too Little, Too Late: It’s gotta be tough, realizing you were the bad guys all along. Dozens of scumbag former Israeli security commandos, guys who served on the frontlines promoting apartheid, have come forward and admitted that the policies of Benny Netanyahu and his far-right government are the biggest threat to their country’s future. You’ll recall that Netanyahu’s government is a collection of the worst ultranationalist and right-wing slimeballs imaginable. One former commando had the gaul to say, “All of a sudden you realize that the greatest threat to the state of Israel is internal.” Get this man a medal for realizing what we can all see clearly, and while we’re at it, get him a straight jacket to pin it on