A recent report from UAW Region 6 outlines a bold vision for how to expand clean energy industries in California using union labor. It’s an example of how unions can get serious about industrial policy and assert themselves in the “abundance” debate.
Supposedly, this is all going to revive domestic manufacturing. But the evidence for that is slim, and it wouldn’t happen overnight—especially not without other policies. At a basic level, tariffs make stuff more expensive.
Your stock portfolio may grow. But say goodbye to next year’s raise—and maybe even your job. Donald Trump’s election provides a useful occasion to examine the difference between what rich people want and what constitutes a thriving economy.
Major unions should follow the lead of the UAW and invest serious resources to organize in EV and other growing sectors across the South.
The microchip giant’s ‘secure enclave’ project will take nearly 10 percent of a CHIPS Act manufacturing fund that is already stretched thin.
The Chinese manufacturing sector is resilient to headwinds
Last year, the union membership rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 10.1% — the lowest on record. The absolute number of American workers in unions did grow in 2022 — by approximately 200,000. But the number of non-union jobs grew faster.
Policies that give more money to people at the top are inflationary. If we want to help the working class we have to pursue policies that reverse upward redistribution, not promise the return of manufacturing jobs that no longer offer a wage premium.
Without a new approach to manufacturing, we may protect the environment better but continue to reinforce racial and economic inequality. Manufacturing is the only economic sector that can generate new wealth for communities currently shut out
Rampant outsourcing, financialization, monopolization, deregulation, and just-in-time logistics are the culprits. Our supply chains were designed for maximum profit rather than getting things to people, problems that arose in the pandemic folded in.
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