Solidarity

[Doug Henwood]

The new issue of the UAW's magazine, Solidarity, just arrived in the mail
On the cover is a pic of president Steve Yokich at the recent convention,
with the headline "Change is in the Air: Report from the 32dn
Constitutional Convention & the GM strike." Ooh, someething about the
strike, was my first thought. So I page through it. Just inside the cover,
a 2-page spread on child labor. A few pages later, the news roundup - the
California vote on prop 226, Indonesian labor leader released from
prison... Oh, here we go, "Flint locals strike GM." Yokich "reiterated the
support of the international for the strikers," but added that these are
"local strikes." "American workers come last in GM's strategy," said
Richard Shoemaker, the union's GM VP. Not bad, about 2/3 of page 7, though
it shares the page with news of the Han Young strike in Mexico and the
threat of Social Security privatization. Turn the page.... more on child
labor, an article on the Daimler-Chrylser merger, then the main feature on
the convention - where we learn that the UAW has a "great future," that the
delegates re-elected "a strong, experienced team to lead the union," that
"organizing" is the union's future, that "Gephardt, Bonior pledge support
for working families," and "Clinton, Herman praise labor," and that "The
UAW is a growing force in Puerto Rico" (though there wasn't a word about
last week's inspiring general strike). A few page later, a headline,
"Rolling the Good Strike" - on an article about bowling! Great organizing
victories are reported on p. 19 - 3,000 new members signed up in the first
5 months of 1998, compared with 9,000 for all of last year. That'll offset
a few GM plant closings, won't it? More articles on voter registration,
proposed changes in bankruptcy laws. On the back page, a celebration of the
UAW's contribution to disaster relief work.

Child labor is certainly an important issue, but it's one of those things
that the UAW can take a strong stand on without any serious consequences.
Who, aside maybe from Paul Krugman, is *for* child labor? But apparently
the UAW thinks the issue is three or four times more important than a
strike for their life in Flint. What's a member to think?

Doug