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The state of labor in 2024 and a big race with little motor taking the course in the cities.

For 30 years, the district of Rock Island has become a race course during the Labor Day weekend.

The Rock Island Grand Prix is back.

We'll talk about it.

But first, the message behind the Labor Day weekend.

A little more than 11% of the American workforce is union members.

More than 14 million are union members, and almost 2 million others are not union members, but are covered by union contracts.

It's a big drop, though, from just 40 years ago, when more than 20% of the US workforce was unionized.

So what happened?

I talked with the president of the Quad Cit Federation of Labor, Dan Gosa.

We're hearing this, of course, during Labor Day weekend.

So tell me, what should Labor Day mean to the average American?

Well, you know, America was built on the back of, you know, labor folks.

Putting in the 40 hour work week and things like that.

So a lot of our folks reflect on, you know, the eight hour work day, the 40 hour workweek, you know and then all of the labor laws that have been put in place, you know, to protect workers and stuff.

And some of that stuff has been challenged on the Iowa side, whereas it gets strengthened on the Illinois side.

So we're kind of in a mixed bubble in the Quad Cities.

So explain that to me.

I mean, is it is it I mean, it just sounds dumb, but our workers rights are always under attack, so to speak, in your in your viewpoint.

It seems like it has bee the last few legislative cycles in the Iowa House.

I mean, you know rolling back child labor laws.

That's a huge thing.

The cuts to unemployment, I mean, some of our members, it depends, you know, whether things like that, what's going on?

But to shorten up that window to draw unemployment, you know, that really affected a lot of our workers.

You know, especially, like, you're heavy highway and things like that.

Some of the, like, UAW members that go on factory shutdowns and things.

I know UAW are some of the John Deere facilities are going on shut down right now.

You know and that directly affects them.

And, you know, especially with the child labor stuff, when kids should be focusing on schoolwork and things like that.

Now we're wanting to put them in meatpacking plants and all this stuff.

It's just crazy, you know, and they you used to have.

You can only work till this amount of tim while, kids are still in school.

They need to be able to do their homework.

They need to be able to pay attention in class and not sleeping in class.

Right.

Because we want them to hav a solid educational foundation to go on to the workforc or post-secondary or whatever.

You know, their plans are and things like that.

You did bring up a different company.

And of course, as far as the labor movement and the employment situation throughout the cities, I mean, that is the big headline right now.

But what concerns do you hav with the the announced, layoffs?

And really, in some ways, the, the employment restructuring at different company.

Yeah.

You know, s it's a little bit mixed on that because no some of the salaried employees see what some of our union members go through right when they do that restructure and things like that.

So then they try to get you to come back for, less money and things like that.

Also, you know, on the good side, a lot of our labor unions put together, trying to think of it, to, job fairs.

So then some of the, UAW members are able to go into, like, building trades or different, you know, realms of work to be able to still support their families and things like that.

I think of it is, though, during company, whether they're salaried or whether they'r a rank and file union members, these are really good paying jobs.

Oh, absolutely.

100%.

It's.

It's very when a company makes record profits and then, you know, and then they're just letting go of people.

It makes you wonder, are they downsizing?

Are they planning on maybe, you know, pulling up shop and going somewhere else or something like that.

It's it's always, interesting times when things happen like that.

I mean, granted, they do go on shut down sometimes when you know they're not in the harvest season and things like that.

There has been less demand for, you know, those product and things, especially with the move of everything being, like, you know, self run.

It's almost like a Roomba vacuum, right?

You programed the thing.

I've talked to several farmers and then it just goes out and does does it?

You know, you're kind of, taken the human being out of things nowadays, and it seems like.

Well, and it's interesting also is that dairy companies said that and they've been pretty clear about this, that that part of the transition is to go from a farm implement company almost into a technological, almost an IT type of company.

Where does that put unionized workers?

Well, obviously, you know, our folks are really good at adapting to things.

At the end of the day, you're still going to need people building those things.

I mean, robots are great and everything but they break down, you know, you can't replace that human element on things like that.

So obviously, a lot of folks have, shifted towards the right thing.

It's the same as, you know, like when I was in school everybody pushed go to college, go to college, and now we're on that, trajectory where it's, hey, you need to go into trades.

You need to do things like this.

Because that workforce shortage.

Right?

So we always kind of, things run in a cycle.

And now we're like, on that cycle for that, and then we'll revert back to where we were because as things even out, you set so many people up to get to a level.

And then when it levels out, you kind of go to go back to, you know, what's tried, true and tested.

I want to take you back in history a bit because as you well know, back during the Clinton administration, the big trade agreemen between Canada and Mexico was, NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Association.

And then President Trump made adjustments to that and said it was going to be a win for American labor and American workers.

And yet you're seeing Deere pretty clearly say that they're building a factory in Mexico.

A lot of the Dubuque workers, a lot of, the Quad City workers, could end up, you know, losing their jobs to that plant in Mexico.

I mean, what is American trade over the last?

What is that now, 25, almost 30 years?

What what are these trade agreements don to the American labor movement?

Also, I think like one of the biggest things that you see every day, like when you, especially if you work in the construction industry or you're at home or whatever, doing your homes up when you buy, tools.

Now it says, you know, made in the USA with globally products or whatever and things like that, I think.

And at one point, I believe they're trying to take that label awa where it said made in the USA.

And, you know, one of the bad things, for us is, people don't pay attention to the things that they're buying.

They're not supporting, you know, like some of these jobs are using, foreign steel and things like that.

And when we're, we're helping, take away from our workforce.

Right.

We're taking away from a good American jobs.

And I think some of those things that, as you said, President Trump put in place that was to help other countries out, not so much as, it might lower the cost on things, but are you really getting a quality product?

I mean, I've been on job sites where they, you know, they use Korean steel or whatever on some of the pipes, and that stuff doesn't hold up as well as the good stuff that our folks, you know, produce and things like that.

Well, let's talk politics for just a moment, because you're running for the 81st district of the House is a Democrat unopposed right now in Iowa.

So you'd be a supporter of the Democratic Party and the Harris Bowl ticket, I'm assuming, of course.

What do you hope to see if Harris is elected as far as, labor agreements, trade agreements or even how, labor is treated?

Well, so I'm going to say it is and I'm a younger guy, I think, President Biden's been one of the most labor friendly presidents in my lifetime.

And with, VP Harris being right there, I think she can build on a lot of that momentum.

You know, very not too often do you have, presidents, vice presidents walk picket lines with you and things like that, you know, and really care about the working people and, organized labo kind of sets the tone for folks because we're organized.

Right?

And some of the things we do, it directly affects working families because, you know, we're setting those things in place and, and people are seeing a lot of that.

So I think you'll see a lo more folks, wanting to unionize.

I mean, an awesome story.

We actually have a Starbucks, right?

In Davenport.

The, you know, voted to unionize, I think almost, I think only one person voted not to in that bargaining unit, where, I mean, that's awesome.

But as you know, like in the 1980s, union participatio was about 20% of the workforce.

It's now down to about 10 or 11% and didn't really grow in the last two years nationwide.

I'm talking, of course, there's not really a goo prognosis for organized labor.

Well, s I think what you're seeing now, what we're you're getting a lot of, folks that are kind of turnin towards that tide where they're they're in favor of, you know, union labor.

When we had the the UAW strikes in this area up in Des Moines, had the Kellogg strikes and things, all kinds of folks businesses came out.

I mean, they were bringing, you know, packages of water, food, pizzas, all kinds of things.

There was so much support there.

I just think with some of the, I think it's going to be a game changer, especially like on the Illinois side here.

They just did that.

The captive audience law i going to be going into effect.

I want to say January, that's a huge thing for people to want to organize.

Whereas when you go across the bridge and you live in Iowa like I do, you know, when things are branded, you know, right to work and things like that.

Well, yeah.

That's a no brainer But he wants the right to work.

But it's basically a right to work for less.

And I think now, people are starting to pay more attention to things like that especially after the pandemic.

People saw kind of how they were treated in the workplace and how some of those safety things weren't put into place to protect them.

I think that played a lot into it.

It's been opening people's eyes.

So I think you will start to see the trajectory of union membership go up.

But again.

I'm sorry.

So, so, so do you see this Labor Day 2024 that that labor is in a strong position?

Oh, absolutely.

I mean, we get a lot of folks to turn out for our parade.

I want to say our parade is the third largest in the state of Illinois or whatever, but we have the Quad Cities.

But you see, I, I've been seeing, like, a lot more, and people invigorated.

Right.

By the change at the top of the ticket that you talked about earlie by, you know, organized labor, there's, we're getting a lo more apprenticeship applications and things like that.

And of people applying for good union wage jobs.

So, but, and some companies, you know, like you got your, Costco's and stuff, they offer a great wage and benefits and things like that.

So they might not necessarily be union there.

I believe they can start a union if they'd like to.

But, you know, as wages go up, you know, that's that's what we're all about, improving lives for working families.

And we want to make sure, you know, that their workers are protected as well because at the end of the day, you want to go into work better than you came out.

You want to.

We want to make sure everybody goes home.

That's that is a huge thing.

That's a thing that we strive for.

Our thanks to Dan Gosa, the president of the Quad City Federation of Labor.

It was three years ag when the drummer known as dead Ginger, joined us on the stage of the Black Box Theater for the original series of performances that were recorded by Wqpt.

So here's dead Ginger with clarity to chaos.

And.

This is.

Dead Ginger.

With Clarity to chaos.

Performed at Moline Black Box Theater.

Well, you know, the city hosts a lot of big races.

The criterium for bicyclists, the big seven for sprinters and short distance runners, the Quad City Marathon.

And another tradition that makes a big deal about Little engines.

The Rock Island Grand Prix is North America's largest karting street race, and it is making its 30 years of racing right now.

We talked with Grand Prix steering committee president Roger Hart, so the Grand Prix and I lov is is the largest karting street race in North America.

You were a part of this sinc almost day one if not day one, if not before day one even began?

Well, this year actually.

Right.

But at first it wasn't my choice.

This all started out, as an an event sponsored by the Rock Island Argus and was originally the Rock Island Argus Grand Prix.

And we lost our publisher an editor, Jerry Taylor, this year, and he was the driving force behind seeing that motorsports was on the rise.

And it was a way to help support events in downtown Rock Island.

So he was the one that he said, no, everybody said you laughe when they talked about doing it.

And he said, no, this is a great event.

We use all our employees.

We did it for three years, and it got so big that he said, you know, we can't we can't do this anymore.

So then the Downtown Business Association, which had been starting festivals on its own, decided to take it over.

And that lasted for a while.

And then it got so big that they couldn't they couldn't do it.

So we created a separat not for profit organization that does it.

Since the first, eight years, I guess, has has been putting on the event because you think of karting as like a little boy sport or something like that.

But first off, it is amazing the diversity of the racers.

But also you just lov the sound, you love the speed.

It is such a great spectator sport.

And where else in motorsports can you get six feet away from the racing?

I mean you going to stand behind the fans and watch what's going on.

But yeah, we have, we have and move around the course.

You're not just stuck in one location.

Exactly.

And we have people that, you know, tailgating, you know, they have their favorite corner or whatever.

But yeah, we've had I mean, we have female racers, we have husband wife, we have father and son.

We got a guy racing with us this coming weekend.

It's 78 years old.

I mean, with motorsports in heart racing is a way.

It's a, you know, it's a way that younger drivers get introduced and learn their racing skills and all that before moving up to cars or something else.

But it's also an inexpensive way for just people that love to race, to get involved.

And two things.

First off, it has a bit of a international component to it.

I mean, you got peopl from outside the United States.

We we've had people from 13 different countries here over the years.

Last year we had a driver from Latvia and Bermuda, the Bermuda guys back.

This year we have Canadians race.

So it's yeah, it's it's well known.

And in the end, in the karting industry then, I mean, you think of Indy 500 and Indianapolis in the karting industry.

Rock Island is a name.

It's and it's been said before that the Indianapolis 500 are karting and it really is.

It's it's it's a race but it's much more it's important for the for the racers.

You know, you gotta love the sport to travel from Florida or California to come race on the street.

It's bumpy and Rock Island.

So but it's a qualifier for some, is it not?

Well, we have a we have a sponsor, Sorenson Motorsports in Saint Louis who last year and now this year again is paying for the winners o several of our races to compete in national international leve races at the end of the season.

And that's a huge boost.

I mean, that makes this race even more important.

Oh, I think so.

I mean, it's, you know, he he sees it as doing something for the racers and the race.

But it's also important for the sport.

I mean, we have racers who, are going to go race like in Las Vegas this year.

The big super out there tha probably wouldn't go otherwise.

Yeah, yeah.

This makes that all possible.

Tell me what's differen downtown Rock Island, of course, as you were alluding to before we started recording, is a lot of construction going right.

So your roots a little different.

So we've had to move the round basically moved it west.

We're racing for those are familiar with downtown.

We're racing around the new parking lot that was made when the, when the, parking garage was torn down.

So, it's a little bit different than the old track.

It'll be different for the racers.

It's actually maybe a little better for the spectators, because you can sort of stand in that parking lot and look all the way around and see what's going on instead of being blocked by buildings.

So, which is it is what it is.

We're we'll deal with it this year.

We've had a lot of support from the different city departments, the police and public works and all that to be able to do this.

And so, yeah, hopefully they'll get the streets done.

The city will have a much better looking downtown and everybody will benefit from that.

And there's always next year.

Oh yeah.

When you go back to the regular route or however you do in next year.

But the other thing that's bi is that it really is a big party for a lot of you.

I mean, I used to have a great time going to it, and you're trying to bring back a little bit more of that is more than a race atmosphere in downtown Rock Island.

Right.

The big thing we've brought back this year is a free Saturday night concert in Square Park.

We have two band that are from out of the area, so they're not the usual bands that are great, but play the free concerts.

We have one that that just won the, Chicago Blues Challenge at, you know, Legends in Chicago.

And we have another band that has toured the Unite States and Europe several times, been around for like 20 years.

So both well known.

But I, I think people will enjoy hearing both of them.

Starts at 4:00 Saturday afternoon till first band goes, 4 to 7 and then 8 to 10.

So we're done early.

It's not a midnight or or 1:00 concert.

Well, also, as you said, I mean for, for the racers, I mean, a lot of times these other tracks that they go to outside of Rock Island aren't in the center of the city.

I mean, you've got basically hay bales and and fencin and that's all that separates, the racers from the spectators, and they're able to mingle and get together.

I mean, that's got to be kind of special.

Yeah, I think that's part of the the attraction certainly is to bring the racers here.

They don't get to race in front of, you know, 15,000 spectators.

Other places are in a race track in the middle of a cornfield somewhere, and mo and the girlfriend are watching.

So, they do enjoy coming here.

But what has been missing, basically since Covid was that Saturday night.

I mean, they like to get together with the race fans, and the race fans like to get together with the racers and they all get together and have a good time, some of maybe a little bit too much.

But, you know, it's going to be it's going to be a great event.

We've partnered with the Market and Parks and Rec, who do concerts in Schriever Park all the time, and, Mississippi Valley Blues Society, which, the last couple of years had their events canceled due to weather and weren't able to hold their blues fest this year.

So we're encouraging people t come and enjoy the free concert.

But if you can, please mak a donation to the Blues Society so they can come back and have your 40th Blues Fest next summer.

So there's that angle to the entertainment will be great, the party atmosphere will be great.

And we're happy to have the partners because honestly we do racing for 18 hours a day and don't want to stay up till, you know, midnight to to do the concert events.

So we have people that are really good at doing that who we're working with.

And our sponsor, Hemp Doctor, has come i and, and one of their products, Southern High Seltzer's, actually sponsoring the concerts.

And you're paying for the bands and all that.

So, it's really bee a great partnership that we hope all hope works really well this year, and we all benefit from going forward.

Roger Ruth, Art Grand Prix Steering Committee president on the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile devic and streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us.

As we talk about the issues on the city's.

At IHMVCU we've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial health and we are here.

IHM VCU is a proud supporter of Wqpt.

The future.

That's where our minds are at Western Illinois University, Quad Cities.

We are innovators searching for something new outside of the textbooks dog loving, leadership driven, world changing.

Whether you choose to study on campus or online, your future is designed on your terms.

Start your future at WIU.EDU / QC Public affairs programing on Wqpt is brought to yo by The Singh Group at Merrill, serving the wealth management needs of client in the region for over 35 years.