Unions gave you the weekend. Unions gave you 8 hour work days. Unions gave you child labor laws. The reason behind every instance of labor rights can be traced back to unions or union agitation. Now, Americans have a higher approval rating for unionization than ever before.
These sentiments come at a decisive time. Labor activity is rising around the country at unprecedented rates. On May 2, writers belonging to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) took to the picket lines in order to halt executives from replacing their labor with AI. Additionally, writers asked for higher wages, especially in the form of residuals, as many of the profits from streaming services are collected that way.
In more recent news, the United Auto Workers (UAW) has authorized a strike at three plants belonging to Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. One of the GM factories is located just west of St. Louis in Wentzville where nearly 4100 workers have taken action by demanding a 36% pay increase and 32 hours of work for 40 hours of pay. Many of their families are struggling coming off the pandemic and with inflationion rising faster than wage increases, they are simply asking for their already negotiated raise.
While workers will win the war for their rights, many battles will test the integrity of organized labor. Ford is already stoking these fires by laying off 600 non-UAW employees in Michigan as retaliation against the strike. The notion that the Ford Motor Company had its hands tied and could not continue to pay those 600 workers, or for that matter settle their dispute with the UAW is laughable. Ford knows exactly what they are doing by taking this course of action and sees laying off employees as a more cost effective and devious way to malign the UAW.
Pitting workers against each other is a key tactic of anti-union campaigns. The narrative goes that unions threaten non-union jobs as a strike in one sector of the economy will ripple and affect others. This reasoning fails to account for the fact that authorizing a strike is a means of last resort. The employers have all the power to come to the negotiating table and settle on a contract, however since profits will be negatively impacted, that option cannot be explored.
Unions scare corporations. Not only do unions work to secure rights in their own workplace, but will also have ripple effects into other industries. If a hardware store were to unionize and demand better working conditions, then in order to remain competitive, the other hardware stores must improve their conditions too. This also bolsters the economy as the average person’s purchasing power increases, thus allowing for more goods to be sold. A unionized workplace positively affects other industries surrounding it and the economy as a whole.
At this pivotal moment in time, unions need support now more than ever. Hollywood producers are starting to feel the pinch and are attempting to subvert the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. Recently, actress Drew Barrymore came under fire for announcing that she was resuming her television series despite the strike still continuing. Only a sustained campaign of public outrage caused her to back down. Refusing to purchase goods from companies with striking workers furthers class solidarity as companies will not find it profitable to hire scabs. In addition to creating awareness, donating to strike funds will help workers by allowing them to prolong their strike and put more pressure on the company. Lastly, joining the picket line and providing food and water can aid strikers by shifting resources to other uses.
You have a vested interest in the success of unionization across multiple industries. The better conditions they advocate for will spread to other companies in order for them to remain competitive. The employer can become a dictator of the workplace and unions seek to level the playing field. Many in popular media circles will report negatively on the UAW, WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes as it is their prerogative to limit class consciousness. Solidarity requires sacrifice, and while that may be hard at times, sometimes these choices must be made. Organized labor will create a better world; it just needs some support.
Do not be a scab. Do not cross the picket line. Do not mourn; organize.
