The Teamsters and the UAW Gear Up for Struggle

Deconstructed

The Intercept

News

4.8 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2023

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Last month, the United Auto Workers took part in a historic election. Shawn Fain was elected president of the union, who represents a reform group, looking to give more power to its workers. At the same time, DHL workers have been engaged in a unionizing push, at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport; the Teamsters, a union with a rollercoaster of a history, are trying to organize the DHL workers. This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim is joined by Brandi Dale and Steve Fightmaster, two DHL workers active in the unionizing efforts at the airport. Then, Grim is joined by labor reporter Alex Press, who breaks down developments with the United Auto Workers leadership and provides an update on Amazon’s unionization attempts.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Deconstructed, I'm Ryan Grimm, and today we're taking a look at the radically
0:08.4	changing fortunes of the American labor movement.
0:11.7	Organically, without the intervention of organized labor, we've seen a surge in workplace
0:16.6	union drives everywhere from REI to Amazon to Starbucks.
0:21.2	That led to the spectacle of outgoing Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz getting dragged before
0:26.0	the Senate's labor committee to explain why his company has been breaking labor law to
0:30.0	push back on the unionization wave.
0:32.7	The committee happens to be chaired by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
0:36.5	Over the past 18 months, Starbucks has waged the most aggressive and illegal union-busting
0:44.6	campaign in the modern history of our country.
0:49.5	That union-busting campaign has been led by Howard Schultz, the multi-billionaire founder
0:55.6	and director of Starbucks, who is with us this morning only under the threat of subpoena.
1:02.9	Yes, I have billions of dollars.
1:05.4	I earned it.
1:06.4	No one gave it to me, and I've shared it constantly.
1:09.6	And the capacity of people of Starbucks.
1:11.6	And so anyone who keeps labeling this billionaire thing is the Schultz.
1:15.2	I don't mean to cut off.
1:16.6	We have time limits here, and you have to be up to 20.
1:19.4	I'm not cutting you off.
1:21.2	It's your moniker constantly.
1:22.6	It's unfair.
	...

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