Day four of the UAW strike from WDIV, Fox 2 Detroit, and MSNBC

I wrote yesterday that I planned on returning to the UAW strike today. Here are updates on the strike, beginning with WDIV reporting UAW strike day 4: Workers striking at Michigan Assembly Plant share their perspective.

The United Auto Worker union's strike agains[t] the Detroit Big Three entered its fourth day on Monday, Sept. 18. Negotiations resumed with General Motors over the weekend, and talks are expected to pick back up with Ford Motor Company and Stellantis on Monday.

The striker hoping Bill Ford would intervene reminds me that the management of the auto companies has more of a "we're all in this together" attitude than the studio executives, which makes me more optimistic about the UAW strike ending sooner than SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.

While WDIV gave the workers an opportunity to state their grievances and hopes, Fox 2 Detroit included the views of politicians and management in UAW strike enters day 4.

UAW employees are on the picket line for the fourth day as the union and automakers continue to negotiate to reach a deal. Offers made to the UAW haven't met the union's wage demands, leading to the strike.

I'm glad Bernie Sanders is showing his support for the strikers, but I think the team from the White House will get more done.

MSNBC's Morning Joe interviewed CNBC's Phil LeBeau, who said 'I think this goes for a while': UAW strike enters its fourth day.

CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports on the fourth day of the UAW strike and why he believes the strike won't end in the short term.

I think LeBeau's assessment is somewhere between pessimistic and realistic, but I don't think he's wrong about what management is willing to accept.

I conclude with Ali Velshi interviewing Robert Reich and Sara Nelson on MSNBC last night. Nelson was optimistic, saying ‘The workers are going to win here’: What could change after the UAW strike.

With the United Auto Workers strike entering its third day, Robert Reich, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, join Ali Velshi to discuss the implications of the UAW strike for the auto industry and workers across the country as the “Summer of Strikes” continues into the fall.

Reich and Nelson are right in principle. I hope they're also right about the outcome.

I may have more on the strike as early as Wednesday. In the meantime, stay tuned as I celebrate Talk Like A Pirate Day tomorrow. Arr!

Business Insider looks at the rise and fall of Occupy Wall Street 10 years later

I'm taking a break from entertainment to look back at a major subject during the first year of this blog, Occupy Wall Street. Watch Business Insider's retrospective, Why Occupy Wall Street Failed 10 Years Ago | Rise And Fall.

Ten years ago, it seemed like Occupy Wall Street would change America. The movement that started in New York City's Financial District spread across the nation in weeks. But it died out as quickly as it started. What happened to Occupy Wall Street and did it even make a difference?

I pretty much agree with former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, that the movement was good at attracting attention and directing it to the economic, social, and political problems, but didn't have a strategic goal or activists who would work to achieve it. However, it wasn't a waste of effort.

As I wrote on the first anniversary of my blogging about the protests, "One year later, the participants may no longer be camping out in Zuccotti Park, but they did turn economic inequality into a major subject of conversation..." Reich and others pointed out that it made the candidacies of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren possible and served as a model for the Black Lives Matter and Climate Strike protests, all of which I supported. So, Occupy Wall Street failed in the short term, but set up other long-term movements that have goals and strategies to achieve them. It also showed what not to do. That's just as important a lesson as its successes.

A bad week for private space

At the end of Set back your clocks, including the ones for insulin pumps, I told my readers to "stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment entry."  It's still coming, probably at 7 PM EST.*  In the meantime, I present a double dose of minor DOOM for proponents of continued crewed spaceflight, the top stories from last night's Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (A bad week for private space) on Daily Kos.

First, both because it happened first and because if it moves, it leads, Discovery News asks Why Did The Antares Rocket Explode?

Last night, a private Orbital Sciences rocket set to deliver cargo to the International Space Station exploded seconds after liftoff. Why did this happen, and what did we lose? Trace and Amy are here to discuss.

That was the first disaster.  NBC News reported on the second, which followed on its heels.

Richard Branson Says Virgin Galactic Will Learn From SpaceShipTwo Crash
October 31, 2014

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said his team is dedicated to finding out what led to Friday's fatal test flight of the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, and that he and millions of supporters of commercial space travel "would like to see the dream living on."

The National Transportation Safety Board began its investigation Saturday into what led to the explosion over California's Mojave Desert that killed one pilot, identified as 39-year-old Michael Alsbury, and injured a second, Peter Siebold, 43. Alsbury died at the scene, according to the Kern County Coroner’s Office. Siebold was headed to surgery Saturday, according to The Associated Press.

Branson told reporters that the Virgin Galactic program would "not push on blindly." "We owe it to our test pilots to figure out what went wrong. If we can overcome it, we’ll make absolutely certain that the dream lives on," the British businessman added. Branson conceded that the program "fell short," but pointed out that the early days of aviation were risky before they became safe.

There is good news from this story: Pilot Injured in SpaceShipTwo Crash 'Alert, Talking'.

A pilot injured in Friday’s deadly Virgin Galactic test flight accident is awake and able to speak with family members and doctors, the company involved in the craft’s development and testing said.

Peter Siebold, 43, had surgery on his arm, his family told NBC News Saturday. He was injured when the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane broke up over California’s Mojave Desert Friday and crashed, killing pilot Michael Alsbury, 39. Scaled Composites said Siebold was the pilot and Alsbury was the co-pilot on the fatal flight.

I'm glad Siebold is recovering, but am sorry for the loss of Alsbury.**

These stories triggered some discussion both about privatizing space in general and about the specific disasters in particular.  Follow over the jump for the recycled comments from my diary on Daily Kos.

Fast food worker strikes from CNN Money and Occupy Detroit

I made a promise at the end of CNN Money on income inequality.

Tonight, I'll conclude this series by embedding the clip about organizing fast food workers and showing how it's played out locally through Occupy Detroit.  Stay tuned.

Sorry, I got sidetracked, as I instead posted Overnight News Digest: Fast Fill-in Edition on Daily Kos last night.  Instead, I'm following through this morning.

CNN Money's Annalyn Kurtz asked Will fast food unions be the next movement?

Robert Reich says striking low-wage workers need collective action and bargaining, but our other panelists are skeptical of union power.

That reminds me of what I wrote in Occupy Detroit and others campaign against petcoke.

Occupy Detroit has continued to do good work, including documenting the fast-food workers strike last month.  I'll be sure to cover that in a future entry.

This is that "future entry."  Watch 5-10-13 Detroit's fast food workers strike for a living wage.

Good Jobs Now, Michigan United and SEIU came out in support of fast food workers across the Detroit area as they went on strike, demanding $15/hr. to bring them out of poverty and give the economy a much needed shot in the arm.

I'll have more about the coverage of the fast food workers striking later.  Right now, it's time for me to go to work.

CNN Money on income inequality

I concluded CNN Money on Occupy Wall Street two years later by writing "stay tuned for more from CNN Money on income inequality."  This morning, I present two clips from CNN Money's Annalyn Kurtz show featuring former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, former Lehman Brothers VP Lawence McDonald, and Occupy Wall Street protester Mark Bray about income inequality.

The first asks Why is the U.S.A. so unequal?

With higher income inequality than in other developed economies, is the U.S. safety net broken, or is it to blame?

I'm with Reich and Bray.  The problem is that wages are too low, not that the safety net is too comfortable.

The second asks Who's to blame for income inequality?

From Wall Street to Washington, our panelists list a number of factors contributing to income inequality.

Again, I agree with Reich and Bray.  Income inequality is a political problem at both ends of the economic spectrum.  The effect of big money in politics, which was mentioned in the previous entry in this series, is the major issue for the Coffee Party.  As such, it's an issue for me.

Tonight, I'll conclude this series by embedding the clip about organizing fast food workers and showing how it's played out locally through Occupy Detroit.  Stay tuned.

CNN Money on Occupy Wall Street two years later

In CNN Money on Lehman Brothers five years later, I pointed out that this week was the second anniversary of Occupy Wall Street and to "stay tuned for more clips...discussing Occupy Wall Street."  It's time to follow through.*

First, a retrospective from the producers of "99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film" about how Occupy flamed out, but issues still burning.

Two years after the Occupy Wall Street protests started, documentary filmmakers discuss why their new film on the movement still carries weight.

Next, former Occupy Wall Street protester Mark Bray joins CNN Money's Annalyn Kurtz and her other guests Labor Secretary Robert Reich and former Lehman Brothers VP Lawence McDonald to explain Why Occupy Wall Street fizzled out.

Did the anarchists kill the Occupy Wall Street movement with a lack of organization? Our Occupy panelist defends the success of the protests.

Stay tuned for more from CNN Money on income inequality and organizing fast-food workers.

*To read last year's retrospective, click on Occupy Wall Street one year later.  It has links to all my entries about Occupy Wall Street from my first until I started blogging about Occupy Detroit.

CNN Money on Lehman Brothers five years later

This week marks the anniversaries of two events I've written about in this blog, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the beginning of Occupy Wall Street.  CNN Money has been covering both stories.  In this entry, I present two clips about Lehman Brothers five years later.

First, a former Lehman employee describes How I bounced back after Lehman collapsed.

Lynn Gray worked at Lehman Brothers for 11 years. Hear her story of the fateful day 5 years ago, and how she was able to start a business at the age of 60.

Next, Annalyn Kurtz asks Since Lehman, has Wall St. culture changed?  Her panel of former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, former Lehman Brothers VP Lawence McDonald, and and former Occupy Wall Street protester Mark Bray answer.

Our financial panelist says there is a lot less risk taking on Wall Street, but everyone agrees the fundamentals of the system have not changed.

Stay tuned for more clips from this show discussing Occupy Wall Street, income inequality, and the next labor movement, organizing fast food workers.

ETA:  For those of you coming here from Kunstler's blog, here are the links to the rest of the entries in this series.

• CNN Money on Occupy Wall Street two years later
• CNN Money on income inequality
• Fast food worker strikes and organizing