Natascha Elena Uhlmann

In his nine years in the auto industry, Ben Hinsey has seen a lot of misplaced blame. The threat of job cuts is always looming.

In fact, Hinsey transferred into his current job at the Stellantis Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio, when his previous one at the Chrysler Toledo Machining Plant evaporated in a 2017 wave of layoffs. He now installs instrument panels and serves as a float, moving from job to job to cover absences.

In her 17 years as a guest room attendant, Isabel Gonzalez has scarcely had a moment’s rest.

Gonzalez is responsible for cleaning 15 hotel rooms per day—stripping dirty linens, taking out the trash, making beds, cleaning toilets, sweeping, mopping, and dusting—all in the span of 30 to 45 minutes per room.

Workers at Julian Electric, an auto parts plant in Lockport, Illinois, lost their election to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) in a devastatingly close tie vote.

A large majority of the 350 mostly Latino workers had signed cards in the lead-up to the vote, but that edge evaporated in the face of a flagrant and sustained union-busting campaign. Even one day before the vote, organizers calculated the union had a lead of more than 70 supporters, but day-of, the vote went 170-170—and in the event of a tie, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) defers to the company.