Friends, You probably saw the news today that 46,000 GM workers courageously decided to strike at 11:59pm Sunday night -- the first national UAW strike since 2007. The UAW has been a force for worker equity and fair treatment for decades, even as our economy has stopped working for everyday Americans. GM should value its workers fairly and compensate them what they deserve. The truth is, the entire auto industry is in a tough situation: The union wants higher pay, better benefits, and increased job security for their employees. GM wants to cut costs so it can keep investing in electric vehicles and self-driving cars, and keep their business afloat. No one wants a strike, but workers feel that they don’t have a choice -- so much so that they’re willing to forgo their salaries and accept $250 per week in strike pay. That is dangerously low -- and GM knows it. So how do we solve this problem? You guessed it. The Freedom Dividend. A Freedom Dividend of $1,000 per month for every adult would increase these workers’ bargaining power by allowing them to afford to strike and make all workers much harder to exploit. As I’ve said before, it’s easier to push for fair treatment if you don’t have an economic boot on your throat. I know that most, if not all, of the Democratic candidates running for president will make public statements supporting the UAW. But if we really want to support our workers, we need structural reform. We need a Freedom Dividend for all to address the problem facing most Americans -- economic scarcity that prevents us from building the lives we want for ourselves and our families. By investing in our people, we can empower them to fight for better working conditions. I’m running for president to solve the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place. This story is just another example of a problem our current politicians simply aren’t equipped to solve. Thanks for being part of this campaign, -Andrew
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