DETROIT – Contract time is approaching for Detroit’s big three automakers and the United Auto Workers (UAW). The new president of the UAW, Shawn Fain, is on Flashpoint.
The Ford Fireworks will be coming Monday night and The Parade Company CEO Tony Michaels is on Flashpoint to talk about the big night and about his efforts to raise money to move the Parade Company to a new home along the Detroit River.
But up first, the man moving to center stage as the contract talks get underway next month between the UAW and the big three automakers. It’s always a pivotal time with a lot on the line, but this next contract feels rather supercharged.
The automakers are trying to retool themselves to fit into the new world of mobility and here comes new UAW president Shawn Fain. He fired right out of the gate, aggressively going after the automakers -- comparing their huge profit reports with stagnant worker wages and benefits.
He went so far as to call the automakers the “enemy.” It wasn’t lost on me that even his name suggests pugnaciousness. Shawn Fain sounds very much like Sinn Fein, the Irish political party dedicated to Irish reunification.
He’s clearly a different kind of UAW leader, but what does that mean for the upcoming talks? And for the future of the Motor City?
You can view the June 25, 2023, episode of Flashpoint in the video player above.