United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain talks with members picketing near a General Motors Assembly Plant in Delta Township, Mich., Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. The UAW union expanded its two-week strikes against Detroit automakers Friday, adding 7,000 workers at a Ford plant in Chicago and a General Motors assembly factory near Lansing, Michigan. .
When Ronald Reagan became president in 1981, his two most significant first-year actions were sharply lowering taxes for the wealthy and— which was also a signal to corporate America that it wouldn’t pay a price for hardball tactics against unions. Since 1983, the percentage of U.S. workers carrying a union cardfrom just over 20% to just over 10% last year, and blue-collar pay and benefits have suffered under that regime.
outside a Ford plant in Wayne, Mich. recently. “We’re all expected to sit back and take the scraps and live paycheck to paycheck and scrape to get by. We’re second-class citizens.” In other appearances, Fain has slammed “corporate greed.” His message is resonating for many, but like for Biden — whoAs noted earlier, there are lots of transitory, short-term reasons why voters are giving Biden low marks on the economy.