Alternative Visions- UAW Strike + Latest Inflation Reports

most of today’s show is dedicated to understanding the UAW strike that began at midnight last night.  What are the union’s demands and the Big 3 auto corporations offers. Rasmus explains how the companies are flush with cash, with $250B profits, tax cuts, $80B paid out in shareholders buybacks and dividends, tens of billions $ direct subsidies by Biden to build their EV plants, and 40% raises for CEOs. What happened in 2019 UAW negotiations and why autoworkers’ real earnings have fallen by 19.1% since 2019. Dr. Rasmus explains the history of union concession bargaining since 1979 which began with the Chrysler auto strike that year. How concession bargaining expanded last 40 yrs. Recent union negotiations at UPS (Teamsters), west coast dockworkers (ILWU), airline pilots, last year’s railroad negotiations, and current writers-actors strike (SAG-AFTRA) are reviewed in the context of concession bargaining and Neoliberalism ‘Industrial’ policy since 1979. Dr. Rasmus makes some predictions about a possible eventual settlement deal in the current UAW strike, which is possibly planned by negotiations ‘behind the scene’ by Biden, UAW, and Auto corp CEOs that won’t be reported. Show concludes with report on this past week’s CPI inflation report and why prices are creeping back up again.