A LABOR NOTES GUIDE HOW TO STRIKE AND WIN 7435 Michigan Ave., Detroit, Michigan 48210 labornotes.org/strikes #488 November 2019 Jim West / jimwestphoto.com Jim West WHY STRIKES MATTER something that employers would prefer Strikes are where our power is. Without a credible we not notice: they need us. Workplaces are typically run as dic- tatorships. The discovery that your strike threat, workers are at the boss's mercy. boss does not have absolute power over you—and that in fact, you and your co- “Why do you rob banks?” a reporter Notes Conference that spring. “It is up workers can exert power over him—is a once asked Willie Sutton. “Because to us to give our labor, or to withhold it.” revelation. that’s where the money is,” the infa- That’s the fundamental truth on There’s no feeling like it. Going on mous thief replied. which the labor movement was built. strike changes you, personally and as a Why go on strike? Because that’s Strikes by unorganized workers led union. where our power is. to the founding of unions. Strikes won “Walking into work the first day back Teachers in West Virginia showed it in the first union contracts. Strikes over the chanting ‘one day longer, one day stron- 2018 when they walked out, in a strike years won bigger paychecks, vacations, ger’ was the best morning I’ve ever had at Verizon,” said Pam Galpern, a field that bubbled up from below, surprising seniority rights, and the right to tell the tech and mobilizer with Communica- even their statewide union leaders. foreman “that’s not my job.” Without strikes we would have no labor move- tion Workers Local 1101, after work- No one seemed concerned that pub- ers beat the corporate giant in a 45-day lic sector strikes were unlawful in West ment, no unions, no contracts, and a far worse working and living situation. strike in 2016. Virginia. “What are they going to do, In short, strikes are the strongest tool “There was such a tremendous feel- fire us all?” said Jay O’Neal, treasurer in workers’ toolbox—our power not just ing of accomplishment. People were for the Kanawha County local. “Who to ask, but to force our employers to smiling and happy. It was like a com- would they get to replace us?” Already concede something. plete 180-degree difference from before the state had 700 teaching vacancies, the strike,” when supervisors had been thanks to the rock-bottom pay the strik- DISCOVER YOUR POWER micromanaging and writing workers up ers were protesting. The key word is “force.” A strike is for the smallest infractions. After 13 days out, the teachers de- not just a symbolic protest. It works be- In a good strike, everyone has a mean- clared victory and returned to their cause we withhold something that the ingful role. Strikers develop new skills classrooms with a 5 percent raise. They employer needs—its production, its and a deeper sense that they own and had also backed off corporate education good public image, its profits, and above run their union. New leaders emerge “reformers” on a host of other issues. all its control over us. from the ranks and go on to become The biggest lesson: “Our labor is ours As one union slogan has it, “this uni- stewards. first,” West Virginia teacher Nicole Mc- versity works because we do”—or this New friendships are formed; workers Cormick told the crowd at the Labor company, or this city. A strike reveals who didn’t know or trust one another PAGE 2 NOVEMBER 2019 LABOR NOTES www.labornotes.org/strikes before forge bonds of solidarity. A few have been neutralized. stubborn co-workers finally see why the A hundred years ago, striking took union matters and sign on as members. physical bravery. Your employer might Allies from faith groups, neighborhood hire armed thugs to attack you. Today in groups, or other unions adopt your the U.S. that’s less likely. Employers have HOW TO STRIKE AND WIN cause. You and your co-workers lose found more sophisticated ways to weaken labornotes.org/strikes some fear of the boss—and the boss strikes. gains some fear of you. Still, it takes real courage to walk out. In all these ways and more—not to You might lose your job, and a court might THE BIG PICTURE mention the contract gains you may deem your firing legal. If striking is illegal win—a strike can be a tremendous in your state or sector, you might have to union-building activity. break the law. If union leaders are reluc- 2 Why Strikes Matter tant to strike, you might have to out-orga- JUST THE THREAT nize them. 4 How Strikes Win Sometimes coming to the brink of a Or the union could miscalculate—you strike is enough to make your employer might find you don’t have enough leverage 6 How Strikes Lose blink. Workers at an Indiana truck plant to win. You might have to walk back in in 2016 got as far as hauling burn bar- empty-handed. 8 Map of Recent Strikes rels to work every day to show they Workers today have to soberly assess were ready to hit the picket lines. The their power up against rich, complex, glob- 10 Pushing from Below company, Hendrickson International, al corporations. Sometimes a strike alone averted a strike by agreeing to phase out may not be enough to win; it might have to two-tier wages and pensions. be part of a larger campaign. But the strike KNOW YOUR ABC'S The benefits of a humbled employer itself remains a powerful tool—economi- can last beyond a single contract cycle. cally powerful, personally transformative After Seattle’s grocery chains in 2013 to the participants, and inspiring to the 12 Ways to Strike came within two hours of a strike—the public. union dramatized the impending dead- The spreading wave of teacher strikes 14 Dealing with the Law line with a giant countdown clock—the has won many material improvements chains scrambled to avoid a repeat in for teachers and schools, and has raised 16 Ways to Not Quite Strike 2016 by settling a new contract before teachers’ expectations across the country the old one expired. for what they and their students deserve. It The transformation can also reach be- has caught the public imagination, rallied BUILDING BLOCKS yond the workplace. Strikes open up our whole communities behind the strikers, political horizons, expanding our sense and put strikes back on the agenda. 18 Turn Up the Heat of what’s possible if we use our power. Optimists in the labor movement (and worriers in the business world) are asking, This summer, a general strike in 20 Organize the Organized Puerto Rico brought down two corrupt who’s next? Will workers in the private sector catch the strike spirit? In 2019 we governors in quick succession. This fall, 22 Democracy: Who Owns the Strike? Amazon workers struck for a day as saw General Motors auto workers, Toledo they pushed their employer to take on nurses, Pennsylvania locomotive workers, climate change. Large-scale strikes will Uber and Lyft drivers, and Stop & Shop 24 Community: Who Else Owns It? be crucial if we expect to rescue our grocery workers all hit the bricks. Could world from the corporations that pro- this be the beginning of the next big up- 26 How to End a Strike mote poverty and environmental col- surge? Let’s make it so. lapse. The 1% are not going to hand us anything. AT A GLANCE A NEW UPSURGE? ABOUT THIS MANUAL 28 Strike Timeline Strikes in the U.S. have declined dra- This booklet is meant to be of use to matically over the past half-century. anyone who wants to know how to strike 31 More from Labor Notes Since 1947 the Bureau of Labor Statis- and win, whether you’re an officer chart- tics has tracked strikes and lockouts in- ing a course for your union or a group volving 1,000 or more workers. Editor: Alexandra Bradbury From 1947 through 1981, there were of rank-and-filers who want to lead from below. Assistant Editors: Dan DiMaggio, hundreds of such big strikes each year. Saurav Sarkar, Jane Slaughter Last year there were 20. The decline in Successful strikes usually rely on months or years of groundwork. So this Staff: Chris Brooks, Bianca strikes is a reflection of unions’ dimin- Cunningham, ishing power and numbers—and a rea- manual starts long before, describing the Joe DeManuelle-Hall, son for it. But strikes aren’t dead. See contract campaign and preparation re- Barbara Madeloni, Adrian Montgomery, page 8 for a sample of recent walkouts, quired to put a strike on the table. Samantha Winslow large and small. The stories and quotes included here Design: Joe DeManuelle-Hall, Over the years it has gotten harder are drawn mainly from Labor Notes re- Saurav Sarkar, Sonia Singh Cover photo: Joe Brusky (in some ways) to strike and win. Some porting, often from the frontlines of the strikes described, and from our LABOR NOTES IS INDEXED IN THE ALTERNATIVE of the best tactics have been outlawed; PRESS INDEX. ARTICLES MAY BE REPRODUCED IN handbooks. ANY NON-PROFIT PUBLICATION. CREDIT IS some of the best sources of leverage APPRECIATED. ISSN 0275-4452. www.labornotes.org/strikes LABOR NOTES PAGE 3 NOVEMBER 2019 HOW STRIKES WIN the employer financially, the leverage Assess all the types of leverage the union can bring is different.