Labor organizer and author Eric Blanc outlines winning strategies and tactics that have succeeded and can empower American workers to fight back against a broligarchy determined to take our wealth.
Unions seem to be gaining traction at the minimum wage job level, but I would love to see workers starting to unionize at white collar jobs, too. Google employees tried it and were shut down, but I think everyone needs to try again, with work stoppages and walk-outs. The conventional wisdom at tech companies is substituting stock options for wages, especially at start ups where long hours are required. Stock options don’t pay the rent, particularly in places like the Bay Area where rents are insanely high. I often wonder if the demand to return to the office vs. working remotely is a strategy to keep workers from organizing behind their backs. Remote work makes it easier to meet without raising suspicions of management.
Unions are gaining at the minimum wage level because that is where the greatest pain is. Necessity is the mother of invention. The lower the wage the greater the need to push back against capitalism as practiced in America.
I worked closely with Rev. Barber and Rev. Theoharis's Poor People's Campaign for several years here in Maine and I think a) what Eric Blanc is talking about resonates completely with what the PPC (www.poorpeoplescampaign.org) has been saying since it was revived in 2018 (the original was founded by Dr. King in the late 1960s). You might want to consider having Dr. Barber or Dr. Theoharis in for a chai talk!
Unions seem to be gaining traction at the minimum wage job level, but I would love to see workers starting to unionize at white collar jobs, too. Google employees tried it and were shut down, but I think everyone needs to try again, with work stoppages and walk-outs. The conventional wisdom at tech companies is substituting stock options for wages, especially at start ups where long hours are required. Stock options don’t pay the rent, particularly in places like the Bay Area where rents are insanely high. I often wonder if the demand to return to the office vs. working remotely is a strategy to keep workers from organizing behind their backs. Remote work makes it easier to meet without raising suspicions of management.
An effective tool, used in a few states, is unionization of renters (common issues,common adversary).
It would be a very powerful movement, if widely deployed.
Sure, but that doesn’t really get to the root of the main problem which is corporate greed.
Unions are gaining at the minimum wage level because that is where the greatest pain is. Necessity is the mother of invention. The lower the wage the greater the need to push back against capitalism as practiced in America.
Great idea!
I worked closely with Rev. Barber and Rev. Theoharis's Poor People's Campaign for several years here in Maine and I think a) what Eric Blanc is talking about resonates completely with what the PPC (www.poorpeoplescampaign.org) has been saying since it was revived in 2018 (the original was founded by Dr. King in the late 1960s). You might want to consider having Dr. Barber or Dr. Theoharis in for a chai talk!