How United Auto Workers got in the driver's seat

+ error-prone polls aren’t going away US Edition - Today's top story: Why the UAW union's tough bargaining strategy is working [View in browser]( US Edition | 6 October 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Why Ukraine war isn’t a ‘tragedy’]( - [Pope Francis’ integral ecology]( - [Test your TC mettle with this week’s quiz]( Lead story The string of strikes known as the “hot labor summer” of 2023 may need to be called something else. As more and more of the yards in my neighborhood sport ghosts, witches and partially buried skeletons – a better indicator of fall’s arrival in northern Virginia than what the thermometer says – workers across the nation are still participating in labor actions of historic proportions. For the past three weeks, the United Auto Workers union has been on strike against the Big Three automakers – GM, Ford and Stellantis, which makes Chrysler vehicles. That’s something it has never done before and part of a new strategic approach under the leadership of UAW President Shawn Fain, who may announce later today that more of his members will go on strike. So far, [his strategy is looking promising](, according to Marick Masters, who studies the history of collective bargaining at Wayne State University. “Fain and his leadership team have gotten the upper hand,” Masters writes. Meanwhile, more than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees are wrapping up a historic three-day strike today. It’s the [largest ever for health care workers](. Michael McQuarrie, director of the Center for Work and Democracy at Arizona State University, explains why that’s happening now. [ [Get our Understanding AI series – four emails delivered over the course of a week, with experts explaining this confusing topic.]( ] Emily Schwartz Greco Philanthropy + Nonprofits Editor UAW union members picket in front of a Stellantis distribution center on Sept. 25, 2023, in Carrollton, Texas. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez [Why the UAW union’s tough bargaining strategy is working]( Marick Masters, Wayne State University The companies are making more generous offers, and the union is commanding support from the general public and the president of the United States. Ethics + Religion - [The pope’s new letter isn’t just an ‘exhortation’ on the environment – for Francis, everything is connected, which is a source of wonder]( Lisa H. Sideris, University of California, Santa Barbara Integral ecology, a holistic way of looking at problems the world faces today, is key in the pope’s writings about the environment. Arts + Culture - [20 years after the publication of ‘Purple Hibiscus,’ a generation of African writers have followed in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s footsteps]( Simon Lewis, College of Charleston African immigrant writers possess particularly acute insights into the way race and racism affect daily life in the US. Politics + Society - [Calling the war in Ukraine a ‘tragedy’ shelters its perpetrators from blame and responsibility]( Mariana Budjeryn, Harvard Kennedy School Calling something a ‘tragedy’ serves to minimize human responsibility for its causes, which can be convenient for the people who are causing the ‘tragedy.’ - [Often in error but still seductive: Why we can’t quit election polls]( W. Joseph Campbell, American University School of Communication The unusual candidacy of former President Donald Trump has made election polling especially appealing, more than a year from the election. But consumers beware: Those polls may be wrong. Health + Medicine - [Why are thousands of Kaiser health care workers on strike? 5 questions answered]( Michael McQuarrie, Arizona State University Workers are objecting to staffing levels they say endanger patient care and are refusing their employer’s offer that includes raises that they say are too low due to inflation. Environment + Energy - [Global temperatures are off the charts for a reason: 4 factors driving 2023’s extreme heat and climate disasters]( Michael Wysession, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis The bad news: Extreme heat is probably going to stick around for a couple of more years. International - [Health on the ballot as Argentina poised to elect ‘anarcho-capitalist’ bent on slashing social protections]( Eric D. Carter, Macalester College Argentinians will vote in a new president on Oct. 22, 2023. But the front-runner’s plans to slash health funding might find resistance. - [Jon Fosse wins the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature for giving ‘voice to the unsayable’]( Alexander Howard, University of Sydney For Jon Fosse, the fourth Norwegian to win the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature, writing has been a way of surviving. Podcast 🎙️ - [The Voice: why Australia is holding a referendum on First Nations representation to government]( Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Carissa Lee, The Conversation Plus a view on the Voice referendum from Canada. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast. Trending on site - [Supreme Court is increasingly putting Christians’ First Amendment rights ahead of others’ dignity and rights to equal protection]( - [What is an attosecond? 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