by Justin | Jul 27, 2020 | Erik Loomis, Labor History, UAW History
Follow Erik Loomis on Twitter Historian Erik Loomis on This Day in Labor History: July 27, 1989. Workers at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, rejected United Auto Workers representation by a 2-1 margin. Let’s talk about the incredible difficulties of...
by Justin | Jul 25, 2020 | Administration Caucus, Erik Loomis, Labor History, UAW History
On May 23, 1950, the United Auto Workers and General Motors came to an agreement that became known as the Treaty of Detroit. This landmark agreement created labor peace in the auto industry but at the cost of the end of the the UAW’s attempt to gain greater control...
by Justin | Jul 2, 2020 | Administration Caucus, Education, UAW History
Some experts, including dissidents within and labor analysts on the outside, raise a larger issue: whether the union understands that a fundamental restructuring of the auto industry worldwide is occurring. These experts, including Harley Shaiken, a work specialist at...
by Justin | Jun 22, 2020 | Administration Caucus, Education, General Motors, UAW History, Uncategorized
The strike itself is sometimes actually part of the strategy to control the workers – albeit a costly one. A fascinating series of articles in the Wall Street Journal described “union-management cooperation” to get the workers back to work and build...
by Justin | Jun 17, 2020 | Administration Caucus, Education, UAW Corruption Scandal, UAW History
What follows is a somewhat complex tale of what happens when a labor union, structured to be unaccountable to the rank-and-file membership, embraces a system of labor-management cooperation rather than a class-conscious understanding that workers and their employers...
by Justin | Jun 13, 2020 | Education, General Motors, UAW History
For months, Pete Beltran has asserted that the team concept would erode traditional union protections, damage the national UAW and eventually cost jobs at the Van Nuys plant. He also asserted that the system, which eliminates strict job classifications and calls on...
