Macomb Township UAW member looking to start social media platform
(CBS DETROIT) - A Macomb United Auto Workers member is looking to launch a social media network exclusively for union members.
It's called Factory Social, and it's 2,500 subscribers away from launching.
"It's going to be a slow burn, but it's gonna be a big burn once it gets there," says General Holiefield Jr., the creator of the Factory Social.
With the app, Holiefield is hoping to connect those on the ground level, like himself, and everyone on the way up to union leadership. The app would serve similarly to others, giving the option to have open discourse, exchange direct messages, and share photos.
"I felt this urge to have to do something," says Holiefield, whose family is deeply rooted in UAW ties.
Not only was his great-grandmother union, but his mother was too.
His father, General Holiefield, was the director of the UAW Chrysler department from 2010-2014. He led the way in collective bargaining agreements between the UAW and FCA. Following his death in 2015, his wife was sentenced to prison for criminal tax fraud from Chrysler, which Holifield was allegedly connected to.
The platform will launch with 2,500 subscriptions. Holifield Jr. didn't deny the trials and tribulations that have come with his over 12-year-old project, but he's hoping to get the traction he feels it needs.
"This is what kept me going. I was thinking about my great-grandmother, thinking about everything they contributed, and my father passing away right after he retired, never even getting to see retirement. I felt really the strong energy to do something," Holiefield added when talking about his motivation behind the project.
