found that in the past decade, the Big Three have made $250 billion in profits, sent $66 billion of that to investors and raised CEO pay by 40%. Meanwhile, the average auto manufacturing worker is earning almost 20% less today than they did in 2008.In this, the auto industry is a perfect microcosm of the American economy writ large.
Today, as unions look up at the parting clouds and see some unfamiliar rays of sunshine, the question becomes whether the labor movement can rouse itself to act with the urgency necessary. Accepting small losses and compromises in the name of political necessity becomes a habit. Unless the labor movement can leap up and seize this moment, it may well slip away.
And that is why everyone should be encouraged by this strike. It is not just a story about the auto industry, nor about one particular contract. It is a story about another major labor union proving that it understands the opportunity at hand. Already this year, we have seen tens of thousands of striking workers shut down