The Absenteeism of American Politicians

Since the beginning of this year, the wave of strikes has swept across multiple industries in the United States.

The latest data released by Cornell University in the United States shows that as of August 23 local time, there have been 240 strikes in 359 locations across the United States this year.

Experts say that the continuous wave of strikes has cast a shadow over the prospects of economic recovery in the United States.

According to Kevin Swift, senior economist at Independent Commodity Intelligence Services, a global commodity market information service, long-term strikes and their chain reactions cause up to $2.5 billion in daily losses to the US economy.

Strike wave sweeping across multiple industries in the United States

According to statistics from Cornell University in the United States, there were a total of 424 work stoppages last year, involving over 220000 workers, an increase of 52% and 60% respectively compared to 2021. Among them, the majority of work stoppages occur in the accommodation and food service industry, as well as in the education service sector.

However, as we enter 2023, the industries involved in the shutdown incidents are "fully blossoming": from healthcare workers to sanitation workers, from bus and truck drivers to port and airport employees, from engineers to professionals in the cultural and artistic fields... and so on.

Especially after entering summer, strikes are in full swing.

In June, due to a salary dispute, a total of 22000 workers representing 29 ports on the West Coast of the United States went on strike, resulting in the interruption of freight operations at major ports on the West Coast.

From July to August, employees of multiple hotels, urban sanitation workers, port and airport employees in Los Angeles, California, held large-scale strikes to protest against rising living costs such as rent and strive for higher wages and benefits.

What is particularly noteworthy is the prolonged Hollywood strike wave.

In May, over 11000 screenwriters from the Writers Guild of America went on strike, demanding that major film and television companies increase their screenwriter salaries and the distribution of surplus revenue on streaming platforms; On July 14th, the Screen Actors Guild of America also announced its joining of the strike.

This is the first time in over 60 years that Hollywood's two largest union organizations have simultaneously held strikes.

At present, this double strike has been going on for over 100 days, causing the Hollywood film and television industry to come to a halt, and also affecting the development of small businesses in fields such as flowers, catering, clothing, makeup, and prop production that rely on the development of the film and television entertainment industry.

Screenshot of Associated Press report

According to American media analysis, behind the continuous wave of strikes is the high inflation level, sustained high cost of living, and significantly reduced real income in the United States. This is a concentrated outbreak of dissatisfaction among the general public in the United States towards the government.

Screenshot of a report by The Washington Post

Danger approaching the three giants of American automobiles?

As September approaches, a major strike sweeping across the US automotive industry seems imminent.

The Federation of Automobile Workers in the United States recently stated that the organization is currently discussing labor contracts for the next four years with the three major American car manufacturers - Ford, General Motors, and Stratis - to demand higher employee salaries to offset inflation.

For this reason, UAW members have overwhelmingly passed a decision: if the two parties fail to reach an agreement before the contract expires on September 14th, they have the right to initiate a strike.

It is reported that the upcoming strike will involve over 150000 workers.

UAW Chairman Sean Finn bluntly stated that their signal to the three major car dealers is very clear: record breaking profits should correspond to record breaking contracts.

Fein said that car manufacturers have earned nearly $2.5 trillion in the past decade. Given that the total salaries of CEOs from the three major automakers have increased by 40% in the past four years, UAW negotiators will also seek "double-digit" salary increases for ordinary employees.

In addition, the union hopes that all temporary workers will become permanent employees and increase the pension benefits for existing retirees.

An analysis by Anderson Economic Group, a think tank specializing in studying the impact of strikes, shows that the automotive industry strike will have a profound impact on the economy of Michigan and even the entire country.

Calculations show that a ten day strike by car workers will lead to the shutdown of Detroit's three major car manufacturers, potentially causing a total loss of over $5 billion to the US economy.

Screenshot of Forbes magazine report

In fact, what may disappoint the American people even more is the absent-mindedness of those in power.

Faced with the poor economic situation, politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States have not truly focused on finding effective solutions to address inflation and improve people's livelihoods. Instead, they have used this as a tool for mutual attacks, falling into fierce internal conflicts and placing individual and group interests above public demands, leading to further exacerbation of "American diseases" such as unequal distribution and social fragmentation.

With the continuous interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, the dual high inflation and interest rates have become increasingly evident in their inhibitory effect on economic growth.

Affected by the strike wave, labor shortages, production stagnation, supply chain crises and other issues have become increasingly apparent, and the already fragile prospects of the US economic recovery are facing more variables.

The latest survey results released by Bloomberg show that most investors expect the US economy to enter a recession by the end of 2024 at the latest.

Screenshot of Bloomberg report

Source: Global Information Radio's "Global Deep Observation"

Planning | Zhang Zhe

Reporter | Wang Hongling

Editor | Li Haolin Wei

Approved by Li Peng and Wang Jian

Producer | Guan Juanjuan