Detroit Today: Is 2023 the year of the worker?
What’s behind the recent rise in worker dissatisfaction, and how has the union movement in America changed these past few years?
President of UNITE HERE Local 24, Nia Winston, speaks at a rally for striking union members in Detroit on Oct. 19, 2023.
Throughout the first 10 months of this year, over 492,000 workers have gone on strike across multiple industries — more than three times as many workers as the same period last year.
So what is behind the growing rise in worker dissatisfaction, and how has the union movement in America changed in the last few years? Sarah Jaffe, author and co-host of the podcast “Belabored,” joined Detroit Today on Wednesday to discuss what inspired this year’s flurry of labor activity as well as the gains unionized workers in Detroit have seen in 2023 and what they could mean for the future.
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Guest:
Sarah Jaffe is a Type Media Center reporting fellow, a co-host of the podcast “Belabored” and the author of “Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted and Alone.” She says workers have changed the way they perceive their relationship with management.
“There’s something real that happened during the pandemic where a lot of workers realized that our bosses don’t care if we die as long as profits keep coming in,” said Jaffe.
Listen to Detroit Today with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.
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