More lessons from the decline and fall of the U.S. auto industry

The UAW is one of the great progressive institutions in American life

The New York Times tells us that the U.S. automakers are back to profitability and seem to have a bright future. Good news, of course. Now that the trend toward success is becoming evident, let’s take stock of the lessons of what has been a great American tragedy.

A little background

The United Automobile Workers Union (UAW) is one of the great progressive institutions in American life. And the automobile is more than a product -- it was, and continues to be, a symbol of freedom. So, the story of the decline and fall of the U.S. auto industry does have a special place in the broader history.

Back in the 1930’s, General Motors was among the richest and most powerful corporations in the world, one that fought the union. In 1937, the workers at a GM plant in Flint, Michigan sat down inside the plant, defying all authority. After a long struggle, the workers emerged with their goal in hand: GM’s official recognition of their union, the UAW.

During and after World War II, as GM and the rest of the U.S. auto makers  prospered, so did the members of the UAW. The UAW became the nation’s largest union and used its influence and resources for other progressive causes, including the civil rights movement

This period of growth and prosperity was brief. From 1945-1975, over 30 years, tens of millions of working people built a better life, more than any generation before them. However, the decline of U.S. manufacturing began in the mid-70s and it has been precipitous and steady ever since.

Tens of millions of U.S. manufacturing workers have lost their jobs, never to return to the prosperity they once enjoyed. In 2008 alone, 330,000 jobs were lost by American automakers and their suppliers.

The present day tragedy

The declining tax base from workers’ incomes, corporate profits and the revenues previously generated by the property and sales taxes of the U.S. manufacturing base are among the primary causes of the fiscal crises we face today. 

This great American tragedy came about because there was no plan for this nation to sustain its widely held prosperity. Today, we have the greatest income inequality in the history of the United Sates with all its consequences: no personal savings, the need for high-interest credit, the breakdown of physical and social infrastructure and the deep spiral downward in the quality of life for the majority of Americans.

By the 1980’s, the forecast for U.S. automakers was already in. Market share for U.S. brands was dropping precipitously. The Great Recession of 2008 finally called the question as GM and Chrysler declared bankruptcy, and Ford hit rock bottom.

Was this tragedy inevitable?

Not if we learn from experience:

1. The efforts that went into creating great manufacturing enterprises, and the struggle for workers to get their fair share of that wealth, came at a high price. There was much genius and creativity in this process along with a lot of brute force. That experience creates both a sense of fulfillment and a sense of mistrust. Both are social processes that do not go away.
2. These dynamics of success and mistrust can cloud our view of is happening externally. The belief that successful practices of the past can be re-invented and communicated differently, but without an ability to step back and transform, can become the secret cause of death.
3. Let’s not allow death to occur before we can find a way to transform!

What we can learn from GM

Professor Harley Shaiken of UC-Berkeley told the New York Times that “What’s come out of the crisis is a realization that the interests of both sides are aligned”.

But don’t we all have a responsibility to align interests before there is a crisis? 

As health care leaders, we know that another great American tragedy is preventable, and not inevitable: hypertension, “the silent killer.” But in order to prevent hypertension, first you have to know that you have it. Then you have to make major corrections in behavior and outlook to cure it. 

Like the hypertension patient who is unaware that he or she has the disease, we have got to get the facts, realize their impact, and transform. In fact, we are at the center of trying to create a system to help hypertension patients get the facts and transform. We also need a system to align our interests and take action on the economy before it is too late.

In our Labor-Management Partnership Agreement of 1997, unions, management, and physicians agreed to align our interests in the face of the rapidly changing external forces all around us.

That was more than 13 years ago and we have made great progress. Now more than ever, we must respect the struggles that came before us, both our own, and those of our sisters and brothers in the U.S. auto industry. We have choices to make in the interest of the very future of our society.