The ongoing cycle of economic “slave-trade” development in the United States is continued by the recent United Auto Workers (UAW) strike at Chrysler. Some might say this is a good thing. As people in the United States move from the comfortable middle class into a working or slave class, we’ll gradually (possibly suddenly) become truly class conscious and put ourselves into the ideal psychological position for fundamental radical change (i.e. socialist revolution). This is the basics of the classical Marxist dialectic. Myself, on the other hand, sees this whole dialectic, this whole economic cycle as an authoritative roadblock to the democratization of the people in the land we call the United States.

The UAW strike at Chrysler lasted only six hours, thanks to the union. Hooray! People get to go back to work in order to provide for their families AND they can go back to work knowing that they’re labor contract is intact. Also, companies like the one I work for whose business relies on the big 3 auto companies (GM, Chrysler, and Ford) can rest assured that the business is still there, capital is still coming in. Yeay! And businesses in other countries, Canada and Mexico would be the most affected, can relax knowing their businesses will still have the parts they need to continue improving cash flow. The union flexed its muscle once again and the sheer size of the muscle frightened the tiny clique of financial managers involved with Cerberus Capital Management, the company that owns about 80% of stock in Chrysler, right?

Yes and no. The union did show that its members are united and willing to walk out and stay out for the long haul if necessary, but I think the current agreement has elements that weaken the union’s power overall. It seems, based on preliminary reports of the contract and based on details from the UAW – General Motors contract, that the union is more focused on keeping benefits and wages for their veterans rather than for union workers as a whole.

””What I want to know is what we got and what we had to give up.”said James Mosley, 55, a Chrysler veteran of 35 years in Kenosha, Wisconsin.” (1)

“[The UAW-GM deal] included … lower wages for new workers in non-production-line positions…” (2)

“The four-year contract with GM (NYSE: GM) will see the company pay the union a lump sum to administer retiree health care, and for a two-tier wage scale for some non-production jobs.” (3)

“How significant is the fact that the union has agreed to a two-tiered wage structure?

Very. Workers in other industries have already swallowed these kinds of concessions, albeit reluctantly. The UAW had hoped to avoid such a fate. Now that it has agreed to pay newly hired workers less, “the union runs the risk of becoming a retirement club,” says Jefferson Cowie, a professor of labor studies at Cornell University. “Once the older generation retires, it becomes a whole new ball game.” ” (4)

This “new ball game” will involve a much weaker union position than the position the UAW has now, which to many people is already very weak. The new union members will have to take on this burden of working more for less. And because the current union leadership chose to focus more on retirees and veterans, so too will the companies. Both Chrysler and GM are continuing to buyout union contracts and encourage early retirement so that this “new ball game” starts as soon as possible.

It’s likely that the current downturn in the economy will continue for working class people due, in part, to the further weakening of union power. People will likely continue to find that they have to work a whole lot, often put in many overtime hours, just to make their financial ends meet. All the while, these same hard working people will be going further into debt and further from anything close to (financial) freedom.

I know that when I have to work overtime or even if I am forced to work a scheduled pay job (which I am now), I have less time for my family. I also have less money and energy for school. This lack of energy and inability to attend classes makes me more susceptible to the status-quo because it takes a lot more energy and time to go beyond the status quo and seek out the more radical (more true?) viewpoints and ideas. When will I, and others, have time and energy to develop a truly democratic, nonviolent, and people-based economic system when all we’re doing is working, eating, and sleeping?

And then, the next time the U.S. government claims the people of the U.S. are in danger, who is going to have time to do the research and develop the ideas to the contrary? Some of us will. But can some of us fill the ranks of the large social movements needed in order to stop future wars … by ourselves, without the “large” group of people who are forced to work as much as possible?

The solution.

Current union members must try hard for the next four years to NOT take buyout offers or early retirement. The UAW must make their stand against Ford in their upcoming contract negotiations. Unions need to support other unions by striking when other unions seem to be losing power. So, if the UAW appears to be losing power with Ford, other unions need to stand up and join the strike. Unions need to help create other unions. Unions need to help create more locals. Workers who are not in unions need to create them. Focus needs to be placed back on the idea that unions are important. With union strength comes worker strength. Nonprofit organizations, peace organizations, justice organizations, NGOs, and all other social justice groups must work to improve workplace conditions either via unions or in other ways that protect and free working people.

Any other thoughts on this will be much appreciated.

(1)”Whirlwind deal ends strike at Chrysler” – 5:00AM Friday October 12, 2007 – By Poornima Gupta and Kevin Krolick – The New Zealand Herald – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&;objectid=10469389

(2)”Deal ends brief Chrysler strike” – Oct 11, 2007 04:30 AM – Tony Van Alphen – Toronto Star -http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/265593

(3)”UAW reaches tentative deal with Chrysler” – Wednesday, October 10, 2007 8:24 AM CDT – The Business Journal of Milwaukee – Buffalo Business First – http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/othercities/milwaukee/stories/20...

(4)”UAW Deals with Chrysler, GM Set Stage for Ford” – October 11, 2007 – Eric Weiner – National Public Radio (NPR) – http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15210810