Where's the Solidarity?

The workers at American Axle are on strike in Detroit. This is a very important strike, despite limited media coverage and no presidential campaign media stops there!

This strike has been going on for quite some time and does not appear to be letting up.

The workers at American Axle are being asked/forced to take something like a FIFTY PERCENT pay cut, lowering their wages to something like $14/hour. This follows similar pay cuts at Ford and other big auto companies. Fourteen dollars/hour comes to about $28,000/year or  $2300/month BEFORE TAXES -- not much above poverty level for a family of four.

Life is getting much harder in the midst of all these other economic problems. A victory in this would be a big boost to the working class and a defeat would be a big setback. Many unions and supporters have dug in to take a stand against such a high pay cut.  How many executives of any corporation have been asked to give up 1/2 of their net wages?

There is a big rally planned for April 18 in Detroit. Please investigate the facts about this strike and try to find ways to support it. Telegrams, letters from campus/community groups and fundraising are all good ideas both to help the strikers and to raise these issue on campus and in the community.

And by the way, it might be worth asking your favorite Presidential candidate to take a stand in favor of the strikers. Or maybe ask campaign workers to petition their candidate to take a stand -- that is a reasonable thing for campaign workers to do.

Surely "Blue Collar Hillary" and "Help the Little Guy" Obama can take a stand against workers taking a fifty percent pay cut.

Will they?

Which presidential candidates, if any, will picket with the American Axle workers?