This week, Howes says the governance of Wayne State University is so screwed up that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state's bi-partisan legislative leaders felt compelled to write the trustees a letter. The request? To "make the right decision"

Howes says meddling shapes MSU coaching search

Feb 15th, 2020 3m 50s

Daniel Howes says Michigan State University's chaotic search for a new football coach demonstrates two things: the Spartans are willing to spend big to try and stay competitive, and the trustees are once again showing zero understanding of the

Iowa's caucus flub should be Michigan's gain

Feb 8th, 2020 3m 34s

This week, Howes says Iowa's Democratic caucus debacle is an opportunity — for Michigan to become a go-first state in presidential politics. Unlike the cornfield capital of America, the home of the Motor City ticks all the boxes today's Democra

Whitmer's 'Plan B' undercuts her deal-making cred

Feb 4th, 2020 4m 19s

This week, Daniel Howes says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a former state Senate minority leader, is not living up to her widely touted knack for working with the Legislature. Instead of delivering grand compromises with Republicans, the governor is a

Tesla's revenge jolts Detroit Three

Jan 25th, 2020 3m 49s

Howes says the Silicon Valley automaker, Tesla Inc., is getting its revenge. In one day last week, the company got approval to sell its electric vehicles directly to consumers in Michigan, epicenter of the automotive establishment. And this wee

Arrival of election year deep sixes trade wars

Jan 22nd, 2020 4m 15s

This week, Daniel Howes says the winding down of President Donald Trump's parallel trade wars signals that an election year is here. Despite impeachment, Trump produced tangible results likely to quicken the country’s economic metabolism in the

UAW is hurtling toward a reckoning of its own making

Jan 14th, 2020 3m 57s

This week, Daniel Howes says the birthplace of the modern American labor movement is facing a reckoning. Thank a growing cadre of United Auto Workers leaders, including two of the past three presidents. Their scheming and embezzling, alleged an

Michigan is shaping up to be the whole ballgame for 2020

Dec 21st, 2019 3m 26s

This week, Daniel Howes says President Donald Trump chose Michigan to counter the House impeachment vote because the state is shaping up to be a linchpin in his 2020 re-election effort. The signs are there: NBC News is tracking voter sentiment

Howes says there are no coincidences in politics, business

Dec 14th, 2019 4m 8s

This week, Daniel Howes says surreal juxtaposition of Democrats moving ahead with impeachment of President Donald Trump and even as reach agreement with him on a replacement for NAFTA proves there are no coincidences in politics.

Howes says new UAW boss has leverage -- if he'll use it

Dec 7th, 2019 3m 49s

This week, Daniel Howes say the new president of the United Auto Workers, Rory Gamble, has leverage to drive reform within -- and if he falters, the most likely alternative is federal oversight of the 84-year-old union.

On Michigan's Big Three universities' dysfunction

Nov 10th, 2019 4m

This week, Daniel Howes says the antics coming from the boardrooms of the state’s Big Three universities will not change until the way Michigan chooses its trustees does. This is what you get when the over-riding qualification to serve on the b

Howes on transnational FCA-PSA deal

Nov 4th, 2019 3m 49s

This week, Daniel Howes says the new name for the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot of France should be United Nations Motors. Rarely has the global auto world seen a cultural mash-up like the one announced this week: Jeep SUVs meet Citroën c

Howes on what the General Motors strike ignored

Oct 28th, 2019 4m 6s

This week, Daniel Howes says the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors Co. netted members a healthy set of economics – on pay and bonuses, profit-sharing and continuing Cadillac health-care coverage. But it didn’t repatriate product

The UAW strike of General Motors gets stranger, just won't end

Oct 21st, 2019 3m 24s

This week, Howes says the strange United Auto Workers strike against General Motors Co. is getting stranger in the wake of a tentative agreement. Instead of returning to work pending ratification by Friday, union leaders are keeping members on

Howes on UAW-GM strike’s roots

Oct 6th, 2019 4m 9s

This week, Daniel Howes says the United Auto Workers’ fight with General Motors Co. is a battle over dollars and cents pitting radically different visions of the future. And there’s no room for Old Detroit thinking because Old Detroit is dead,

Howes on autos agenda, presidential impeachment

Sep 28th, 2019 4m 1s

This week, Daniel Howes says the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump will freeze Detroit’s automotive agenda in Washington. From trade deals with China, Canada and Mexico to fights over emissions policy, the nation’s capital is like

Howes on the UAW scandal and strike

Sep 22nd, 2019 3m 53s

This week, Daniel Howes says that as United Auto Workers members strike General Motors Co., the union’s rank-and-file and its legion of retirees can thank the leadership’s corruption scandal for opening the political floodgates to the UAW’s tra

Daniel Howes on ‘America’s’ automaker

Sep 8th, 2019 4m 6s

This week, Daniel Howes says Detroit’s top two automakers – facing a potential circus surrounding national contract talks with the United Auto Workers – are jostling for position with the public and President Donald Trump. Ford’s claim? To be “

Howes on feds' probe, UAW corruption

Aug 17th, 2019 3m 41s

This week, Daniel Howes says the federal corruption probe into the United Auto Workers and its joint training centers is heating up just as the union is negotiating new contracts with Detroit’s automakers. That’s a whole lot of not good for a U

Southeast Michigan’s auto towns are cool again

Aug 11th, 2019 4m 4s

This week, Daniel Howes says there’s growing evidence that southeast Michigan’s auto towns are cool again. Credit the politics of the day, sure. But credit also a growing sense of obligation on the part of a new generation of leaders – and a be

On the Democrats' missed shot

Aug 3rd, 2019 3m 47s

This week, Howes says this may be a progressive moment for the Democratic Party aiming to oust President Trump from the White House, but their preferred policy preferences and reliably anti-business tone aren’t reassuring to voters in the indus

On the Democratic debate and Midwest jobs

Jul 27th, 2019 4m 1s

This week, Howes says, the Democrats vying to replace President Donald Trump might want to get a little savvier about the real economic issues facing the electorally vital industrial Midwest. Around here, so many of the issues that matter to ev

Closures of GM, local newspaper, test Mahoning Valley grit

Jul 21st, 2019 3m 45s

They’re waiting for the end at Lordstown, the giant auto plant General Motors says it no longer needs. And for the closure of the Vindicator, for the past 150 years Youngstown’s daily newspaper. They’re the latest casualties in a downward spira

Looming UAW contract talks look to be tough

Jul 13th, 2019 3m 58s

This week, Howes says that not since the dark days of bankruptcy a decade ago are contract talks between the United Auto Workers and Detroit’s automakers likely to be as tough as the round beginning next week. It’s not because times are bad. It

Automakers face a looming 'profit desert'

Jun 29th, 2019 3m 42s

This week, Daniel Howes says global automakers face a “profit desert” in coming years as spending for the Auto 2.0 spaces of mobility, autonomy and electrification consume vast amounts of capital. But returns on those investments are showing un