Breaking news: GM workers on strike
First nationwide strike by autoworkers since 1976.
The economic implications might not amount to much. Most other big U.S. companies have already found ways to slough off their "legacy costs" — i.e., committing way too much money for retiree compensation and health care — so this might be something of an isolated case.
The cultural implications might be more interesting. I'm old enough to remember TV footage of striking autoworkers back in the day. And labor issues were still big deals back then. But there's a whole generation out there that's never seen anything like this. What will they make of it? Is it not relevant to them because they're fed up with older generations who've squandered the Social Security that supposedly has their name on it? Is it not relevant because far few Americans belong to labor unions now compared to 30 years ago? Or will there be some other kind of reaction? Be interesting to see…
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