Unity Gains Sean Crawford & Jessie Kelly
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- Education
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Unity Gains is an exciting new podcast produced out of UAW Local 160 in Warren, Michigan. Join Sean Crawford and Jessie Kelly, as they cover all things union with a focus on the Auto Industry and keep up with the growing working-class movement.
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An injury to one is an injury to all.
There is power in numbers. That is the fundamental principle behind unionism. Combining our efforts with workers internationally has the potential to grow our influence as a movement exponentially. In this episode we discuss the importance of international solidarity with UAW Regional Directors Brandon Mancilla, Daniel Vicente and Assistant Director Raymond Jensen Jr.
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The EV transition and 30 hours work for 40 hours pay
We discuss the impending electric vehicle transition and it's effect on autoworkers. We also discuss how reducing work hours could be the key to both addressing job losses and increasing our quality of life.
For those interested in reading more on the 30 for 40 movement I recommend checking out Johnathan Cutler’s book “Labor’s Time: Shorter Hours, the UAW and the Struggle for American Unionism” It's particularly good in audiobook format for those long days in the shop. All our sources are listed below. If you’d like a reminder about our upcoming podcasts please email us at unitygainspodcast@gmail.com and make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.
References:
https://www.epi.org/publication/ev-policy-workers/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/14/fact-sheet-president-bidens-economic-plan-drives-americas-electric-vehicle-manufacturing-boom/
https://www.autonews.com/executives/gm-ceo-mary-barras-2022-compensation-29m
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2023/05/05/uaw-joe-biden-shawn-fain-president-endorsement/70183759007/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair
https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/
https://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/economy/2013/07/10/worlds-shortest-work-weeks/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avZHdp0u2YM&t=1s -
Big Three Automakers Contract Campaign
Show notes:
Wayne State University Labor School program:
https://labor.wayne.edu/labor-school
Region 1 classes:
https://region1.uaw.org/education/online-classes
https://region1.uaw.org/education/about-our-education-program
Labor Notes, How to Strike and Win:
https://www.labornotes.org/strikes
Big thanks to our friend @Weathercitizen Who remixed the classic labor song Solidarity Forever (originally written by Ralph Chaplin in 1915) for our intro music! @Weathercitizen also helped us a great deal in getting set up and showing us the ropes for recording our first episode. Thanks @Weathercitizen!
References:
On labor costs (the PR games the company plays to hurt workers in the media and gain public sympathy to undercut workers)
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/17/labor-costs-for-detroit-automakers-expected-to-increase-by-up-to-1b.html
https://www.wxyz.com/money/auto-news/uaw-labor-cost-per-gm-vehicle-is-5-so-why-is-the-strike-in-day-29
COLA /CPI
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL
https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=169000&year1=201901&year2=202303
Customer Reviews
A potential to be an incredible tool
This podcast has the potential to reach so much of our Union brothers and sisters and get crucial information to some of the membership that otherwise doesn’t have it. I am excited to see how well this broadcast can strengthen our unification and make us all stronger as a whole.