DETROIT – It wasn’t just talk. For the first time ever, the UAW strikes each of Detroit’s Big Three automakers at once.
How long might it last? How long can the Michigan economy endure? And how does it end?
If you’ve been following closely, this strike is nothing close to a surprise. UAW President Shawn Fain seemed to promise it from the outset, that pushed the Big Three to make what they all describe as history-making offers.
And, yet, here we are. Targeted strikes at just three plants, and yet, this is a surgical approach that seeks to cause the most pain for the carmakers with the smallest number of strikers possible.
Fain said the strike is aimed at keeping the automakers guessing. This morning, we’re all guessing. Guessing at the duration, guessing at the damage to the supply chain, to the Michigan and national economies, guessing at the political wins and losses. We do know it is a critical moment for Detroit’s signature industry and for the future of the labor movement in America.
You can watch the Sept. 17, 2023, episode of Flashpoint in the video player above.