Oct 16, 2023
WATCH: Union Workers Show Skepticism Of BOTH Political Parties
Autoworkers on the picket line showed disdain and skepticism of both political parties while talking to More Perfect Union's John Russell.
- 9 minutes
Now and then something happens that
completely scrambles everything that you
thought you knew about politics, something
that brings the bigger picture into focus.
We spent four days talking to auto
workers in Detroit to understand how
this strike was affecting
their politics in real time.
[00:00:16]
Who do they trust to have
their back in this fight?
What do they demand?
The results of this next election
could hinge on whether we listen.
>> Speaker 3: Last month,
President Joe Biden and
his political opponent Donald Trump
traveled to Detroit to speak to
[00:00:32]
auto workers in the midst
of the UAW strike.
Now, the two spoke to completely
different parties, with Biden focusing on
the striking UAW workers and Trump
speaking to non unionized auto workers.
But reporter John Russell went to Detroit
as well to figure out how those very
[00:00:49]
workers felt about the opposing
presidential candidates.
So let's hear what they had to say.
Now, many of the workers felt
disillusioned with both political parties,
something that I certainly can relate to,
but
they seem to be particularly
frustrated with the Democratic Party.
[00:01:05]
Let's watch.
>> Speaker 2: The more
we talked to workers,
the more we heard a version
of the same story.
>> Speaker 4: I remember as a kid,
my dad voted Democrat all day.
>> Yeah.
>> Speaker 4: I never voted Democrat.
>> Yeah.
>> Speaker 4: Never did.
Because they'll tell you that they
support the job, but they don't.
[00:01:22]
>> Speaker 5: We thought that the Clinton
administration was for us, but
they put in a NAFTA program, which
messed us up really bad in the long run.
>> Speaker 1: I just feel they've gotten
away from a lot of things that used to
be important here in Michigan.
Everybody's on the fence.
Believe me, everybody is on the fence.
[00:01:39]
And I don't feel like we
have a good two candidates.
>> If they've been voting Democrat for
the last 50 years.
And Democrats keep on showing up and
saying, we're gonna protect your jobs.
Why did we lose a million
jobs just in the union?
What are they protecting?
[00:01:55]
So, that's why it's very,
very hard to make
a decision on who you're gonna believe.
>> Speaker 3: I actually think that there
is a disconnect right now in regard to
what the Democratic Party has engaged
in over the last several decades.
[00:02:15]
Versus what we have seen from the Biden
administration in regard to labor.
And so, the recent history of
the Democratic Party in essentially
going along with neoliberal economic
policies that have led to stagnant wages.
[00:02:31]
That have led to ordinary, hard working
Americans feeling left behind and
neglected in this economic system.
That has, unfortunately, painted a picture
even of the Biden administration,
regardless of what the Biden
administration has done in favor of labor.
So what do I mean by that?
[00:02:47]
Look, Biden definitely has his flaws.
There's no question about that.
But one thing that has become clear
to me in his presidency is that he
does value labor.
He has chosen individuals to be part of
the National Labor Relations Board who
[00:03:02]
actually care about labor and
want to protect individuals
who are looking to organize
their workplace and unionize.
In fact, the NLRB under the Biden
administration has made it easier for
workers to unionize.
And if the workers are dealing with
union busting by their employers,
[00:03:21]
the NLRB has basically made it so
the employers have to automatically
accept and recognize the unions.
Which is a big change from what we've
seen in previous administrations.
Donald Trump, of course,
had all sorts of anti-labor individuals
[00:03:38]
packed into the National Labor Relations
Board and they did no favors for
ordinary hard working Americans.
At the same time, you have Biden showing
up to the picket line as the striking
UAW workers were making their case for
better pay and working conditions.
[00:03:56]
He has been supportive both in actions and
in rhetoric, but
he's not getting the credit,
I believe for two different reasons.
Number one is the recent history
of the Democratic Party and
how they have increasingly looked
to rally support from the hyper
[00:04:12]
educated upper middle class voters.
And also because of the fact that Biden is
just not really great at messaging about
his accomplishments and what he has
managed to achieve for working Americans.
Now, the workers were asked,
who do you support?
[00:04:30]
They were not supportive of Donald Trump.
They clearly had issues with Joe Biden.
But there is one leader
that they rallied behind.
And you're gonna find out
who in this next video.
>> Speaker 2: In our time in Detroit,
there's pretty much only one leader
who everyone, regardless of their
politics, has spoken positively about.
[00:04:47]
>> Speaker 5: He definitely
making some moves right now.
He forcing their hand to
see what you got for us.
>> Speaker 1: He will rip your contract
up and throw it in the trash can.
>> Because that's where it belongs,
the trash.
>> On TV I really like Shawn Fain.
It's about time we got
somebody that's standing,
[00:05:04]
excuse my French balls to the wall.
>> Speaker 7: I think he has got some
old school in him, which is what I like.
He's willing to put it on the line.
>> Speaker 3: He definitely is
willing to put it on the line.
And remember, the UAW workers ousted
their previous union leadership and
[00:05:22]
instead decided to go with Shawn Fain.
Now why would they do that?
They would do that because he had shown
them that he is willing to fight for them.
And I think that his leadership
has made that abundantly clear.
The strike strategy has been pretty
brutal for the auto workers.
One of the biggest Ford plants
has dealt with walkouts, and
[00:05:41]
they're obviously incredibly
salty about that.
That has hit the value of their
shares in the stock market.
And so, I love to see that the workers in
this case are feeling represented not by
our politicians, unfortunately, but
at least by their union leadership.
[00:05:57]
And they had to fight to make that happen.
Now with that said,
they use Fain as an example of what they
would like to see in political leadership.
So let's take a look at their arguments.
>> Is just showing up on a picket line,
say, for someone like Joe Biden, enough?
[00:06:15]
>> No.
>> You stand here with me,
ain't putting no food on my table.
>> Speaker 2: Show it.
>> Speaker 1: Show me.
>> Speaker 8: For me,
I'm gonna look at everything.
I don't care about what party you're with.
I care about what your policies are.
>> Speaker 9: Whose side are you on?
Are you on the working class or
are you on the millionaire side?
[00:06:30]
>> Speaker 1: I'll be honest,
if Shawn Fain was running for
president, I'd vote for him.
>> Speaker 3: Same, now, they mentioned
Biden showing up to the picket line and
how that doesn't really do much for them.
Obviously, showing support
I do think means something.
[00:06:45]
But for me, it's not just about what Biden
does by showing up at the picket line.
It's about what his actions tell us
about whether he values labor or
if it's just talk, right?
Now, when it comes to Donald Trump,
I'll give him credit for
at least having the political instincts
necessary to determine that appealing to
[00:07:04]
workers is incredibly important.
But obviously, talk is cheap.
And if you look at what he accomplished
during his presidency versus what Biden
has done for labor,
it's really night and day.
And there is a good reason why there's
all of a sudden all this attention toward
[00:07:20]
labor and labor activism.
So, keep in mind that union membership
has really dwindled considerably.
So before the 1980s, for instance, more
than a million workers regularly went on
strike annually, according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[00:07:35]
But between 2020 and 2017,
the average number of workers on strike
shrunk to about 100,000 per year.
But recently,
workers have taken up the fight once more.
We're seeing a little
more labor militancy.
Just look at the numbers
over the past few years.
[00:07:51]
So, from January 1st to
October 11th of 2021,
there were about 188 strikes
involving about 47,800 workers.
Then in 2022, same time period,
there were 345 strikes involving
about 126,800 workers.
[00:08:08]
And this year,
from January 1st to October 11th, 2023,
there were 318 strikes involving far more
workers, 468,200 workers to be exact.
So you are seeing workers
feel invigorated or
reinvigorated in regard to the labor
movement, which is good news.
[00:08:26]
And they're starting to take
actions into their own hands,
understanding that they unfortunately have
to pick up the slack from the politicians
who are no longer representing
their best interests.
And they're doing so
by organizing their workplaces,
whether we're talking about Amazon or
Starbucks.
[00:08:42]
And when it comes to unionized workplaces,
they're actually flexing their muscle and
demanding better contracts
that include provisions for
better pay and better working conditions.
So, my heart goes out to the UAW workers.
I do think that they have great
leadership and great work.
[00:08:57]
Again, by John Russell, speaking to these
workers and trying to figure out exactly
where their hearts and minds are when
it comes to our political landscape.
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