The NPR Politics Podcast - The Summer Of Labor

Episode Date: September 13, 2023

Public opinion toward organized labor is at recent highs. As a potential strike by the United Auto Workers looms, we look at what UAW workers are looking for in a new contract, and how the Biden administration & Republicans alike are approaching this moment.This episode: political correspondents Susan Davis & Don Gonyea, and labor & workplace correspondent Andrea Hsu.This episode was produced by Casey Morell and Elena Moore. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Unlock access to this and other bonus content by supporting The NPR Politics Podcast+. Sign up via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Connect:Email the show at [e-mail] the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at AutographCollection.com. Hi, this is Melissa from Fairfax, Virginia. I'm a private tutor, this summer I've been focusing on writing with my students. Here's some of the politically themed figurative language examples they've come up with as we've worked on our poems and stories. As strong as the USA Army, older than the American president, and they had more arguing going on

than the U.S. Congress. The time is 12.39 p.m. on Wednesday, September 13th. Things may have changed since the time this was recorded. Enjoy the show. Kids really do say the darndest things. Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Susan Davis. I cover politics. And I'm Don Gagne, National Political Correspondent. And Andrea Hsu, who covers the labor movement for NPR, joins us today. Hey, Andrea. Hey, Sue. So organized labor is having a bit of a moment. Strikes involving actors and writers in Hollywood have been underway for several months now. And another set of union workers might also choose to strike this week. The United Auto Workers represent around 150,000 employees at the country's big car manufacturers, and they have until Thursday night to reach a deal. So Andrea, what's at stake

here? Well, we're not going to see all 150,000 auto workers go on strike at once. The UAW has been discussing these selective strikes at plants that they think would really have an impact. So you think about it, it might be a plant that makes transmissions for multiple trucks, for example. But what would be unprecedented is that we could see strikes at all three automakers at once, GM, Ford, and Stellantis. In the past, the UAW has chosen one strike target. And in 2019, the last round of negotiations, that led to a 40-day strike at GM. But this time, UAW President Sean Fain has given all three companies a warning. If we hit 11.59 p.m. on Thursday without a deal at any of the big three automakers, there will be a strike at all three

if need be. And as far as what that would mean for, you know, Americans, well, you know, dealerships actually have a pretty good inventory right now. But if a strike lasted several months, we could see that inventory dwindle and car prices could go up. Can you explain what the big sticking points are in the negotiations between the unions and the companies? Yeah, well, wages are a big one, of course. The union wants really big raises, about 40% over the next four years. And also other economic issues, they want a restoration of the cost of living adjustment, which would tie wages to inflation. And also other economic issues, they want a restoration of the cost of living adjustment, which would tie wages to inflation. And they want to get rid of the two-tier system

that was introduced in 2007. You know, newer employees then were to be paid less and would have 401ks instead of pensions. The union made a lot of these huge concessions at a time when the auto companies weren't doing as well. And even more concessions came after the financial crisis of 2008. But since then, the auto companies have really recovered and profits have soared. You hear Sean Fain talking all the time about how automakers have made $250 billion in profits over the past decade. Meanwhile, workers are still feeling the effects of those concessions made, you know, 15 or 16 years ago. You know, the auto companies, meanwhile, say they're facing a lot of pressure. The transition to electric cars is expensive. And they have so far offered wage increases in the 10 to 15% range, plus some lump sum payments, you know, which are basically one time bonus payments.

And I talked to one worker about these, Jerry Coleman. He is on the production line at the Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio. And he says, you know, he just doesn't want to settle for that. They want to just throw us money while they keep making billions. Well, I'm trying to tell them, man, that money don't mean nothing because once that money gone, they're going to work the dog crap out of us. Don, all of this seems to be happening at a very interesting time and in which unions seem to be more muscular, more political and more aggressive in these negotiations. It's also President Biden is making a pitch to labor workers. He campaigns as saying he's the most pro-labor president in U.S. history. But he's also angered labor at points in his presidency. He has. And look, I don't want to overstate this kind of tension that does exist sometimes between labor and the Biden White House.

He is a pro-union president, right? But he has not been perfect. A good example is last year, he intervened in a big rail strike that was threatening to kind of disrupt all kinds of public and rail traffic, especially on the eastern seaboard. Biden intervened, and at one point, he signed a bill that actually imposed a settlement, imposed a deal on the labor dispute that was underway. And again, that was because of the potential impact up and down the East Coast and really, you know, rail traffic in America. And that did not particularly please labor. I talked to some rail workers at the time who said, you know, we thought Biden had our back and here he took away our ability to strike, and they were not happy. Labor, at least some elements of it, has also not been particularly happy with Biden's push

to green up the economy, you know, to go to more electric cars, to work on the infrastructure for a whole new green economy. But again, that's not the whole story. They do love that he supports the PRO Act. PRO, it hasn't passed yet, I should say. But PRO Act stands for Protect the Right to Organize, and it would make it easier for workers to organize. And Biden says anyone who wants to join a union should be able to organize and make that happen. So you've got those kinds of things. It's like a push-pull, but Biden insists he's the greatest pro-union president ever. Sean Fain has been asked about that recently, and he's like, well, you know, I don't want to debate

Biden here, but FDR was pretty good. So that's kind of where we're at. It is telling that the UAW is withholding a political endorsement of Joe Biden right now. Indeed. And that is key because the AFL-CIO, which is the big umbrella organization for, you know, for basically labor in America, of which the UAW is one of its member unions, the AFL-CIO has endorsed Biden. And they, frankly, see Donald Trump as an existential threat to unions. But the UAW, because individual unions also endorse, has said we're holding off. We have a lot we want to see yet. We want to see how these labor talks go. I think they're hoping to keep leverage on the White House in case they want the White House to maybe lean on the companies or use the bully pulpit to nudge things in unions' favors a little bit. And they're more likely to see that happen, they think, if that union is

still kind of hanging out there. Maybe it'll come, maybe it won't. I should add just quickly, though, that while Donald Trump wants to take advantage of the fact that the UAW has not yet endorsed Biden, Sean Fain does say that a second Donald Trump presidency would be a disaster for unions. So the endorsement won't go there. It's just whether or not Biden gets it. You know, it does seem clear that Biden recognizes that he has maybe some amends to make up with the labor movement. And it was notable that he also made a point to go to Pennsylvania, a very key swing state in 2024, on Labor Day and to talk about unions and his allegiance to unions. It does seem to, as he pivots into campaign mode, I think it's a tell that he sees the labor movement and the labor

vote as critical to his success. That's absolutely correct. And, you know, I cover politics. And if you cover politics, you're going to find yourself in a union hall, especially if you're following somebody like Joe Biden around. Biden went to Philadelphia on Labor Day, gave a speech, was cheered. We have to say that. They were glad he was there. He did say that day that he didn't think there would be an automobile workers strike this week. He thought they'd resolve it. He was being pretty optimistic, let's say, because when Sean Fain was asked about that the same day, he said, I don't know who Biden's talking to, but that doesn't sound like the information I've got. We should note that if you are someone that spends a lot of time in union halls, there's also a very good chance that you're going to come across Don

Gagne one day as well. Let's take a quick break. And when we get back, we're going to talk more about the state of labor in the U.S. It's a highly choreographed event. The president boarding Air Force One. The president goes up that staircase, stands at the top, and waves to the cameras and the people below. But in recent months, President Biden has been routinely taking a shorter set of stairs. It's also more stable. And it also has the benefit for the president, for the White House, of putting most of the president's assent or dissent out of view from cameras. It's a switch that draws attention to one of Biden's greatest weaknesses among voters,

his age. That's in our latest bonus episode for NPR Politics Podcast Plus listeners. If that's you, thank you for your support. And if it's not, it could be. Sign up today at plus.npr.org. And we're back. And Andrew, one of the interesting things about the labor movement right now is that union membership has been declining over time. It's currently almost an all-time low. But public attitudes towards unions just seem to be getting better and better and better. Yeah. You know, Gallup polling over the last few years since the pandemic has seen Americans' approval of unions soar to these highs not seen in 60 years. It did come down slightly this year from last, but still about two-thirds of Americans support unions.

And that's interesting because, as you say, only about 10% of Americans actually belong to unions. So this favorable attitude towards unions isn't because of some personal family connection. And another interesting finding out of that Gallup poll was that a much greater share of Americans now think unions are gaining strength. Last time Gallup asked this question five years ago, only one in five people said they thought unions were getting more powerful. Now it's one in three. And that's no doubt because of highly publicized labor disputes at places like UPS, airlines, Starbucks, and now autoworkers. Yeah. And speaking of Teamsters and UPS, you know, they just had this very high profile, intense negotiation, where the labor leaders were very public and very aggressive in their

messaging. And it does seem like at this point in time, labor union leaders are feeling more emboldened to not only fight for the workers, but threaten strikes. Yeah, I mean, we hear the adjective combative used a lot to describe Sean O'Brien, you know, the president of the Teamsters, and also Sean Fain, has watched the UAW for many, many years, Sean Fain really does see this as a political campaign. First, it's important to note, I think, that he is the first UAW president who with its top leadership being involved in corruption, even being sentenced to prison. Two presidents of the union went to prison for embezzlement of union dues. a direct election. That is how Sean Fain got elected through that first direct election. And it means he's in a more political position with the membership than his predecessors had been. So we see him out publicly always talking to his members. I mean, he's like a retail politician. He's like a retail politician. And let's play just a little bit of a speech that he gave on Labor Day here in Detroit. And you can kind of

hear this. Tell me this doesn't sound like a political rally. If we don't get our share of social and economic justice, I can guarantee you one thing. Come September 14th, we're going to take action to get it by any means necessary. He is literally, you know, quoting Malcolm X at his speeches at big union rallies. And sure, there are a lot of union members who will cheer on Malcolm X, but there are a lot of union members in a lot of places around the country are kind of going, hmm, what's this all about? And Sue, I also want to point out that, you know, unions are in a powerful position right now because of the economy. The labor market is still really tight. Unemployment is low.

And so this is really the time for unions to make these big asks, the audacious demands that Sean Fain himself has said he's making. Well, I guess that makes sense because in these labor union contracts come up, in recent years, we've been dealing with a pandemic. Not too long ago, we were dealing with a financial crisis. The economy may not have been as in strong a position for unions to stake out as strong a ground. Absolutely. And you look at UPS, $13 billion in profits last year, thanks to online shopping going

through the roof in the pandemic. The airlines saw travel bounce back, online shopping going through the roof in the pandemic, the airlines saw travel bounce back, you know, demand for travels through the roof, airline pilots were getting 40 some percent raises this year in their contract negotiations, and, you know, cars too, everyone wants to buy a car now. So this really is a good time for unions to be fighting for higher wages and benefits. You know, Dawn, politically, the labor movement has been aligned with the Democratic Party. Union households vote Democratic more likely than they do Republican. But we have been seeing a shift in American politics in that more college educated people

are shifting towards the Democratic Party and more working class people are shifting towards the Republican Party and more working class people are shifting towards the Republican Party. And specifically when it comes to labor, I have been watching closely the voices in the Republican Party who are saying, look, these are our people now and we need to be advancing a more labor friendly agenda. I'm thinking of people like Marco Rubio, who's a Republican from Florida, who came out on the side of Amazon workers unionizing in his home state of Florida. Josh Hawley is a Republican from Missouri who opposed Biden's efforts to override the railroad strike deal, basically saying that it is for the future interest of the Republican Party to be more on the side of the labor movement. Now, whether that happens, who knows. But the fact that people are trying to provoke that conversation is very interesting to me about where the coalitions are in American politics. Okay, Andrea Hsu, thank you so much for joining us today.

My pleasure. And we will be back in your feeds tomorrow. I'm Susan Davis. I cover politics. And I'm Don Gagne, national political correspondent. And thanks for listening to the NPR Politics Podcast.