I made three television appearances on September 14th and we want to share video from two of those appearances with you. September 14th at 11:59PM marked the expiration of the United Auto Workers' contracts with Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors. The contracts' expiration brought with it the expiration of a no strike/no lockout clause, which made September 14th at midnight the UAW's strike deadline.
Just a few minutes before the UAW began its "stand up" targeted strike against all three automakers --- a historic "first" in their long bargaining relationship --- I appeared on MSNBC's 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle along with NY Times automotive reporter Neal Boudette. Our discussion focused on why UAW members are striking, but we also discussed the relationship between the strike, UAW members' wage demands, and inflation. I tried to state as clearly as I could that the strike is not going to contribute to inflation unless it is protracted --- that is, months long. Also, I offered my strongly held view that profits are contributing more to inflation than workers' wage increases, with some limited exceptions.
Watch the 11th Hour clip here:
A few hour earlier, I appeared on Bloomberg TV's Balance of Power with Joe Mathieu and Annmarie Hordern. This discussion focused more on the politics of the UAW strike. In particular, we talked about President Biden's role in trying to avoid or settle the strike and what the strike means for his political standing. I also made a small amount of news by suggesting that the strike could last for weeks rather than days if we did not see the gap in the parties' bargaining positions narrow substantially leading up to the strike deadline.
Watch the Balance of Power clip here:
