Strike

GE Workers Protest, Demand To Make Ventilators

April 15, 2020 Katie Ferarri, Labor Notes. Resist! COVID-19, General Electric, health, Strike, Workers

Last Wednesday union members at General Electric plants across the country protested to pressure the $88 billion company to shift production to ventilators and ensure safe working conditions during COVID-19. Actions at plants in Massachusetts, Virginia, Texas, and New York were coordinated by the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers (IUE-CWA)—the latest in an escalating pressure campaign. GE workers are facing a two-fold threat under COVID-19: dangerous working conditions and job loss. On March 23 the company announced that GE Aviation would cut 10 percent of its total U.S. workforce and that half the company’s maintenance, repair, and overhaul employees could be furloughed for the next three months. GE could avert the layoffs, the union said, by accepting funds from the recent stimulus bill or by shifting the impacted GE Aviation shops to ventilator production.

Striking Employees Reveal Basic Economic Principle That Derails COVID-19 Fight

April 14, 2020 Leigh Osofsky, The Conversation. Resist! Amazon, COVID-19, Gig Workers, Instacart, Strike

A series of recent protests by the workers preparing and delivering our essential foods and other goods highlights a key risk to our ability to combat the coronavirus. Some employees at an Amazon warehouse and Instacart “shoppers” briefly walked off the job on March 30, citing inadequate health protections and compensation. And Whole Foods workers organized a national “sick out” protest to pressure the grocery chain for hazard pay and more protections. With most Americans sheltering in place, these workers are among the millions of individuals who face heightened risks as they continue to do their jobs keeping our refrigerators and pantries stocked during the pandemic. But because of an economic theory I study known as “positive externalities,” most of them aren’t being adequately compensated for it.

Red Lines: Amazon On Strike

April 11, 2020 Anya Parampil, The Grayzone. Resistance Report Amazon, Strike, Worker Rights

What Workers Need to Know About Their Rights. Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with Kevin Gustafson, an organizer with Democracy at Work and host of the Sensible Socialist Podcast, about the strike sweeping the online shopping industry. On March 31st, workers for Amazon, Whole Foods, and Instacart went on strike to protest unsafe working conditions in light of the coronavirus outbreak. Anya Parampil and Kevin Gustafson discuss their demands as well as what workers should know if they are planning to strike.

Striking McDonald’s Workers Say Their Lives Are More Essential Than Fast Food

April 11, 2020 Hamilton Nolan, In These Times. Resist! COVID-19, Essential worker, Strike, Worker Rights

The fast food industry has long insulated itself from organized labor by building a legal wall between the parent company and the individual franchised stores. That imaginary separation is being tested by the reality of the coronavirus pandemic, as McDonald’s workers across the country have held strikes and walked out, unwilling to risk their lives for fries with no safety net. The Fight For $15 has found fertile new ground in helping to organize fast food strikes in recent days. McDonald’s workers in Los Angeles, San Jose, St. Louis, Tampa, Raleigh-Durham and elsewhere have staged job actions this week, in a coordinated push for safer working conditions, paid sick leave and hazard pay. Maria Ruiz, who has spent 16 years at McDonald’s, was one of the workers who went on strike yesterday outside of her store in San Jose, California.

From Strike Wave To General Strike

April 10, 2020 Richard Moser, Be Freedom. Organize! Economic collapse, General Strike, Strike, Worker Rights

The strike wave is here. The strike wave is real. Can workers take the next steps toward a General Strike? The current crisis is a rare opportunity for us to build a movement both outside of electoral politics and based on an organizing model. That matters because the biggest shortcoming of the left and the social movements is our lack of organizing. Organizing can do what good intentions or radical theory or electoral campaigns cannot: turn solidarity from a dream into a living thing. But without some serious solidarity, all our hopes for a General Strike will fail to materialize. As we build the solidarity infrastructure needed for a General Strike lets not lie to each other. It’s called “class struggle” for a reason. Strikes are painful with workers pitting their sacrifice and suffering up against the bosses’ profits. Strikes are no party. But, general strikes, while rare, are a good match for the unprecedented interlocking crises we face.

In The Face Of Corporate Bailouts, Rent Strikers Demand Relief

April 10, 2020 Indigo Olivier, Waging Nonviolence. Resist! COVID-19, Economic collapse, Rent Strike, Strike

On April 1, tenants at 1234 Pacific Street in Crown Heights dropped white sheets over their fire escape — a symbol borrowed from organizers in Montreal — to inform their neighbors that they would not be paying rent this month. These tenants are part of a wave of recent rent strikes in cities across the country responding to nearly 10 million new unemployment claims so far as a result of the coronavirus shutdown. After Pacific Street’s management company refused their collective bargain offer to reduce or eliminate rent for tenants who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic, the building’s tenant association formally declared they were on strike and are instead appealing directly to the governor — #CancelRent Cuomo, one banner reads.

Amazon Retaliation: Workers Striking Back

April 9, 2020 Matt Smith, Counterpunch. Resist! Amazon, COVID-19, Strike, Worker Rights

Last week, my Amazon coworkers in New York took the courageous step of walking off the job to protest our company’s lack of action to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Amazon workers in Detroit and Chicago have followed suit, demanding that Amazon shut down any warehouse where positive cases of the virus are found, to ensure a thorough cleaning. Out of a selfish concern for their profits, Amazon has refused to take this basic step, despite repeated requests from Amazon workers, including a petition signed last month by over 4,500 of us. Now, Amazon employees have tested positive in at least 19 warehouses around the country, and the situation has become dire. So my coworkers are taking action. But rather than act to protect our health, Amazon’s wealthy executives have chosen to retaliate against employees who speak out.

Cambodian Garment Workers Strike Over Unpaid Wages During Pandemic

April 8, 2020 By Saut Sok, Global Voices. Resist! Cambodia, Garment Factories, Strike, Worker Rights

Nearly 1,000 garment workers protested outside a Phnom Penh factory on March 25, 2020, after the owner failed to pay their regular wages, which the company said was due to declining payments from buyers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Factory workers employed by Canteran Apparel (Cambodia) Co. Ltd. protested after the company failed to pay their full wages for the most recent two-week pay period, worker Sann Sopha told VOD. The factory owner refused to sign an agreement promising to pay workers their outstanding wages at the beginning of next month, as workers had asked, Sopha said. Workers will continue their strike to force the company to respect the condition to pay workers regularly from today onward. Workers asked the company to make a written promise with them but the company did not dare to make a contract with us. The company just gave excuses for this and that.

Shipt Shopper Walk-Off

April 6, 2020 Shipt Shoppers, Medium.com. Resist! COVID-19, Shipt Shoppers, Strike, Worker Rights

For the past several weeks, Shipt has been ignoring its Shoppers’ pleas for hazard pay, PPE, and denied 14 days of sick pay for those of us too sick to work. Earlier this week, they issued a pay cut drastically lowering the payout for canceled orders. For some, this was the second unannounced pay cut this year. Shipt is a gig economy company that Target acquired at the end of 2017. We shop and deliver orders from Target as well as many grocery stores. While the company has always kept a low profile, their shady ways are starting to come to light. You may have read about their bizarre culture or their latest massive pay cut that’s already hit several markets. Because of the cult-like environment they’ve created, they’ve censored and intimidated shoppers into staying quiet, out of fear of retaliation.

Workers Walk Out, Building Momentum Toward General Strike

April 4, 2020 Candace Bernd, Truthout. Resist! COVID-19, health, Strike, Workers

Essential workers at Instacart, Whole Foods, Amazon and General Electric are staging protests and walking off the job in droves across the U.S., demanding increased protections and pay as they continue to face disproportionate risks and increasingly perilous working conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of workers for the San Francisco-based Instacart, a popular U.S. grocery delivery service app, went on strike Monday for better pay and health protections as they face soaring demand to deliver groceries and other essentials to people on lockdown amid shelter-in-place orders. As Instacart orders in many parts of the country are backed up by as much as a week as demand has spiked, many of the company’s full-service shoppers — who are classified as independent contractors — say they are not being provided with adequate paid sick measures, hazard pay or supplies to meet challenging delivery schedules while staying safe.

McDonald’s Workers Go On Strike Over Unsafe Conditions, Lost Hours, Pay Cuts

April 2, 2020 BizJournals.com. Resist! COVID-19, Low wages, McDonald's, Strike, Workers Rights and Jobs

St. Louis, MO - Some McDonald's workers in St. Louis, Tampa and Memphis have gone on strike to protest unsafe working conditions, pay cuts and lost hours. More than 100 workers across the three cities have walked off the job or waged stay-at-home strikes, according to a news release. While McDonald's U.S. locations have closed their dining areas, the stores are still serving customers via drive-thru, take-out and the company's McDelivery service. Some McDonald's workers in Tampa kicked off the strike on Tuesday, alleging the company would not allow them to wear face masks. The walkout was reported on Twitter by Fight for $15, a global movement that advocates for workers' rights and a $15 minimum wage. The group has created a petition demanding that McDonald's provide paid sick leave for all workers, among other COVID-19 related demands.

Amazon, Instacart Workers Strike Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

April 2, 2020 Ashley Curtin, Nation of Change. Resist! Amazon, COVID-19, Instacart, Strike

As much of the country is under “shelter in place” orders to help flatten the curve, Amazon, Instacart and Whole Foods’ employees’ safety is in jeopardy. And many of them walked off the job yesterday to pressure the companies to step-up protections and pay. While online shopping and grocery delivery is at an all-time high amid the coronavirus pandemic, the protests come as some employees are testing positive for the virus and neither Instacart nor Amazon are doing enough to keep employees safe. “The richest man in the world can’t even provide basic protection for his workers during this pandemic crisis because it hurts his bottom line,” Ron T. Kim, New York Assembly member, tweeted about Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos. “I stand in solidarity with Amazon workers.”

The Struggle For A COLA At Berkeley University

April 2, 2020 Jack Wareham and Dylan Burgoon, Counterpunch. Resist! COLA, Higher Education, Strike, Worker Rights and Jobs

California - On March 5, in the midst of a campus-wide march and rally, a student protester at UC Berkeley walked into the bustling Free Speech Movement Café, a study spot that borrows its name from Cal’s legendary 1960s anti-war protests. “Fellow students!” she shouted, climbing on top of the counter. “Today, you will witness the largest protest you have seen during your time at UC Berkeley. We are shutting down the campus in solidarity with the grad students at UC Santa Cruz who were fired while striking for a cost of living adjustment. Please join us in demanding a COLA for all!” The room full of students was uncomfortably silent. During the midterm week at Berkeley, many are studying for difficult courses that prepare them for cut-throat professions.

Rikers Prisoners Strike: ‘Free ‘Em All, Shut Down Prisons’

March 29, 2020 Miranda Crissman, Workers.org. Resist! COVID-19, health, Prison Strike, Strike

Journalist Kim Kelly broke the news on March 22 that two dorms at Rikers Island are on strike. Their statement reads: “Two dorms of 45 inmates at Rikers are refusing to leave our dorms for work duties or for meals. We must take these actions in protest of the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies provided to inmates, the crowded living conditions imposed on us prior to the pandemic and made worse by the daily addition of new inmates from other facilities, some of whom are highly likely to have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, and the arbitrary disconnection of our phones for three hours on the morning of March 22. “We demand the same calls issued by the Board of Corrections. That all inmates: over 50 with parole violations, at high risk due to health conditions, with less than a year of sentenced time BE IMMEDIATELY RELEASED.

Update: Statement From Striking Truthdig Workers

March 27, 2020 Truthdig Staff, Popular Resistance. Educate! Media, Strike, Truthdig

On Wednesday night, amid reports that much of the country was going into quarantine indefinitely, Truthdig's staff received an email with the subject line "Re: Truthdig." The email was to inform us that Truthdig LLC was being dissolved and that our positions at the publication had been terminated. Chris Hedges, the site's most widely read columnist, was among those fired, despite the fact that he raised grant money to cover his own salary. "Thank you for all you've done at Truthdig," an attached form letter read. "We really appreciate your contributions. We did great work together. We wish you the best in your future endeavors. Be well and stay safe." Two weeks prior, we had begun a work stoppage at the website to protest unfair labor conditions, promising to return to work if Truthdig's publisher, Zuade Kaufman, committed to negotiate with us in good faith.

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