Takeaway 3: Treat Labor Well

Truce

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A few months ago I produced two episodes about the Christian roots of American labor unions. And... a bunch of people stopped listening to the show. It turns out that many American Christians are conservative and, therefore, anti-union.

This mini-episode is the counterbalance to that series. Here we discuss the inefficient practices at General Motors in the 1980s. It was an era where GM slipped from holding over 40% of the market share to 17%. What happened? It's a story of unions, gasoline, and the reasons we treat labor well.

Resources used:

• “Rude Awakening: The Rise Fall and Struggle for Recovery of General Motors” by Maryann Keller
• "Crash Course" by Paul Ingrassia

Discussion Questions:

• Do you have a bias for or against labor unions?
• Who do you know who is or was in a union? What is their work ethic?
• The labor unions in GM in the 1980s were inefficient. Does that make all labor unions inefficient?
• Does specialization in factories help or hurt in the long run?
• Do you have a bias for employers or employees?
• Do you work as unto Christ in your own job?
• What is the Christian way to work? To employ someone?

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