From #striketober to #strikesgiving

November 10, 2021 5:13 PM

Strikes across the country continue. Workers rediscover the power of unions as during #strikesgiving. Civil Eats urges solidarity with food workers and farmers. The Intercept discusses the current labor movement with labor reporter Jonah Furman and Nausicaa Renner and its implications in a podcast.

John Deere workers are still on strike as the company moves to shift some production overseas.
Thousands of nurses and other health care workers at Kaiser Permanente hospitals plan to go on strike Nov 15.
The Wirecutter Union has threatened to walk out on Black Friday over unfair contracts with the New York Times.
Kellogg's workers enter their second month on strike.
Fast food workers across CA go on strike for better working conditions.
UC lecturers could go on strike.
Third RTC bus driver strike underway after union turns down 'final' offer.

Previously.

posted by toastyk (18 comments total)

It's heartening to see so many workers feel like they have enough leverage to strike. (And dismaying to know how far so many have been pushed.)

The Wirecutter Union FAQ is interesting - one of the main things they're pushing for is remote work: "our commitment to allowing our geographically and culturally diverse staff to work from (almost) anywhere." (They mention it three or four times in the FAQ.) I just saw an article this week saying many office workers are insisting on remote work and work-from-home options, and employers who won't offer those are losing out.

It's also nice to be reminded in the Wirecutter FAQ that journalism has historically been well unionized:

Do other publications have unions?

Many of the country’s most reputable news organizations are unionized, among them our parent company, The New York Times. Others include the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as many digital media organizations, such as Slate, the Daily Beast, HuffPost, Vox Media, and Vice Media

The fast food workers' strike is really interesting, too, covering so many different restaurants - and promoting passage of a California law that "would set minimum industry standards for working conditions, wages and working hours, "related to the health, safety, and welfare of, and supplying the necessary cost of proper living to, fast food restaurant workers," the bill states."

I think unions are great, but I'm even happier about legislation that covers all workers in a state or country.

This is really interesting stuff, toastyk - thank you so much for posting all these great links!
posted by kristi at 5:43 PM on November 10, 2021 [10 favorites]

I think it's very important to mention reddit's million+ strong /r/antiwork, which is pushing for a blanket strike on Black Friday.

Coverage in Vice.
posted by deadaluspark at 6:03 PM on November 10, 2021 [4 favorites]

And 1,000 Alabama coal miners have been on strike since April.
posted by farkleberry at 6:06 PM on November 10, 2021 [6 favorites]

This makes me so happy. I wish I was in a better position to help the strikers, but my heart is with them.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:43 PM on November 10, 2021 [4 favorites]

I say we get out ahead of the labour hire companies and form a scabs' union.
posted by flabdablet at 2:08 AM on November 11, 2021 [1 favorite]

I am extremely disappointed in how little discussion this massive, major, working-class event is going, especially when the Democrats need a fucking win. You think backing these people would be a fuckin no-brainer.
posted by deadaluspark at 6:36 AM on November 11, 2021 [7 favorites]

NYT apparently is unwilling to come to the table with Wirecutter, and are asking people to avoid shopping via the site during Black Friday/Cyber Monday. (Honestly just confirms my decision to never subscribe to NYT.)

I missed this earlier: MineWorkers President Cecil Roberts and 5 others were arrested in front of BlackRock.

The Democratic politicians may need a win, but not if it's gonna cost them any power or actual money or make them keep their promises. They will still beg for and get our money in or out of office, so what difference does it really make to them? (Have I gotten really cynical about politics? Yes, yes I have.)

Thanks for everyone's feedback! I honestly have a bit of a difficult time making these posts because there is not very good coverage by mainstream media outlets, and I'm finding the links via the hashtags or by following specific labor journalists on Twitter. So if people have additional information or good analysis, please add your links! Things are getting big enough that my friends who do not talk about politics most of the time are now aware of various strikes going on and bringing them up in casual conversation.
posted by toastyk at 7:27 AM on November 11, 2021 [3 favorites]

John Deere and union will resume negotiations.
posted by toastyk at 9:05 AM on November 11, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'm seeing some Democrats publicly supporting the strikes:

Elizabeth Warren backs Deere strike, saying workers have gotten the short end of the stick 'for decades', CNN Business, Matt Egan

Iowa Democrats back Deere workers, Republicans mostly silent, Bleeding Heartland, Laura Belin

Here is what Iowa Democrats, mayors are saying about the UAW strike at Deere, Des Moines Register, Stephen Gruber-Miller and Hanna Rodriguez: "Democrats quickly began issuing statements and tweeting after the strike began overnight Wednesday. Also reacting, in cities with Deere plants, were mayors, who are elected in nonpartisan races. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and Iowa's Republican members of Congress had not issued public statements on the strike as of Thursday afternoon."

U.S. Senators pen Letters of Support for BCTGM Members on Strike Against Kellogg, Michigan AFL-CIO press release: "Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Edward Markey, Tammy Baldwin, and Sherrod Brown, Senator Gary Peters, and Senator Debbie Stabenow have penned letters of support urging Kellogg’s CEO to negotiate in good faith and give BCTGM members a fair contract."

That's just from a quick search; I imagine there are more.
posted by kristi at 10:27 AM on November 11, 2021 [3 favorites]

Based on the links, it seems like coverage of the strikes is getting picked up on a local level, but nothing beyond that -- which makes sense, from a corporate overlord's perspective: the last thing you want to do is suggest that workers across the state/country/world are all engaging in simultaneous struggles against management, that might give them ideas!* So, keep it small, present it as a local issue disconnected from anything else. What's fascinating/bizarre is that even in this day of worldwide inter-tubes, the decision of the big networks and media outlets not to report on this (and it must be a conscious decision by management/editorial, it's not plausible that they're unaware) would keep mass awareness of it so fragmented.

*I mean, can you imagine hearing this on a 24hr news network going out to umpteen million viewers? "And today in the World Wide Web: There's a new movement building on the popular social media website Reddit to stage a massive work stoppage. On one of the sites' 'subreddit' pages called 'antiwork,' over one million users have expressed support for a possible nationwide strike on Black Friday. Economic experts have said that a strike of that magnitude could disrupt several major industries and erase much of the wealth of the worlds' billionaires in a matter of hours, which in turn could have both immediate and long-term political consequences. When asked about how this new effort could compound the numerous strikes already going on throughout the country, one market expert had this to say: 'Oh, who knows? You know? If these strikers are well organized... I mean, it's conceivable that they could shift power back to the working and middle classes and permanently undermine the power of corporations and the 1%? Wouldn't that be something!' More on this story as it develops. Next up: does your Google TV think you're a racist? If you've ever used the popular search engine to find information on 'critical race theory,' you may be shocked by what you find out."
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:30 AM on November 11, 2021 [3 favorites]

For those looking for more labor news sources, here’s a good list.
posted by cushie at 7:55 PM on November 11, 2021 [2 favorites]

The Bus Driver Strikes and the threat of privatization.

HelloFresh employees trying to unionize say they've been met with retaliation and abuse.
posted by toastyk at 7:34 AM on November 12, 2021 [3 favorites]

and of course, late stage capitalism being what it is, some of that abuse is outsourced. To only the best people, naturally.
posted by flabdablet at 9:19 AM on November 12, 2021

Kind of too early to report, but: the Kaiser strikers have a tentative agreement (CNN): "Unions and management at Kaiser Permanente have reached a tentative agreement that avoids a strike that was to start Monday at 14 West Coast hospitals and hundreds of more clinics and medical offices."
posted by kristi at 11:50 AM on November 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

And another: Film production workers narrowly approve new contracts, averting a massive strike, CNN, Chris Isidore:

The pair of contracts fulfilled many of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees' (IATSE) negotiating demands — but there was enough opposition that the deals were nearly rejected. The narrow vote is another indication of the current discontent among many workers, both organized and non-union, over the state of their jobs.

Although there were economic issues involved in the deal — including significant wage improvements for lower-paid union members — many of the changes agreed to by management involved quality of life issues, such as meal breaks, guaranteed time off between shifts and time off on weekends.

...

Turnout nationwide was very strong, with 72% of eligible union members casting a ballot.

...

Meanwhile, many nonunion employees are also walking off jobs. The Labor Department reported that a record 4.4 million American workers quit their jobs in September.

The article notes that the vote was extremely close. With so many workers still dissatisfied with the deal, productions may find more individuals leaving for greener pastures or taking breaks between jobs.
posted by kristi at 5:53 PM on November 15, 2021

John Deere strike ends after union ratifies 3rd contract offer: includes 10 percent increases in wages this year, and a total increase of 20 percent over the life of the contract, the United Auto Workers said... In addition to the wage increases, the newly ratified deal includes an $8,500 signing bonus, more retirement options and makes no changes to healthcare, the union said.
posted by toastyk at 8:19 AM on November 18, 2021

The UC lecturer's strike was called off yesterday.

I'm surprised so many strikes have actually been called off.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:51 AM on November 18, 2021

I'm surprised so many strikes have actually been called off.

The purpose of a strike is to pressure an employer to negotiate. A union demonstrating that it could pull of a strike with strong membership support is almost as much pressure as the strike itself.

So unions have been moving to call strike authorization votes (where membership authorizes the union leadership to call a strike if and when necessary) earlier in the negotiations process (maybe even well before they are in a legal strike position), to supply that demonstration of support and concomitant pressure. This works because it is less costly for most employers to avoid the strike in the first place, so they are more likely to settle for a contract that is more favorable for workers if there has been a strong strike authorization vote. (Which also means, paradoxically, that the best way for a union member who doesn't want to go on strike to avoid a strike can often be to support a strike authorization vote.)

Relatedly, it benefits the employer to draw out contract negotiations for as long as possible. (Eg. years and years for a first contract, as John Oliver pointed out in the season finale episode of Last Week Tonight earlier this week.) So if a union is in a position where they legally can call a strike, it can be strategic to call one, but for some reasonable time in the future that would be sufficient for real, actual negotiations to occur. This sets a deadline that gets the employer back to the bargaining table (or pressures the employer to bargain in slightly better faith).

So in many respects, a number of things have potentially gone wrong for a union if they end up actually striking.
posted by eviemath at 12:44 PM on November 18, 2021