Hi there,

There has never been a more urgent time for courageous, daily, independent news. Media is essential to the functioning of a democratic society. Can you support Democracy Now! with $15 donation today? With your contribution, we can continue to go to where the silence is, to bring you the voices of the silenced majority – those calling for peace in a time of war, demanding action on the climate catastrophe and advocating for racial and economic justice. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Labor Unions Strikes Fail to Register on Candidate Agendas

Listen
Media Options
Listen

United Auto Workers employed by General Motors in Dayton, Ohio continue to strike, despite the efforts of negotiators. The strike began three weeks ago over the issue of outsourcing. 150,000 GM workers at more than 20 GM plants throughout North America are participating in the strike. Dave Shores, a member of UAW Local 696 and a GM employee of 20 years, says that present and future jobs lie at the heart of the issue. Current workers are bogged down with overtime, and as a result, injuries on the job are rising. Meanwhile, outsourcing to other companies is a constant threat. While worker support for the strike is high, it is starting to take a toll on their families. Almost no politicians have acknowledged the strike in their election campaigns, and the striking families say they do not expect to receive their support.
In Michigan, the Detroit newspaper strikes move into their ninth month. With the aid of replacement workers, The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press continue to be published. Strikers, meanwhile, have begun publishing their own paper; The Detroit Sunday Journal. Norman Sinclair, the journal’s Editor, says that job security and wages are underlying issues in the strike. Anne-Marie Zenimer, a Teamster who works with distribution of the paper to its 300,000 subscribers, says that the community and local politicians have been very supportive. However, media coverage of the strike has been weak, and so far no presidential hopefuls have stopped along their campaign trails to address them, although Clinton offered a “thumbs up” from his motorcade.

Related Story

StorySep 02, 2024Labor Day Special Featuring Howard Zinn & Voices of a People’s History of the United States
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top