There are three phases of a general strike and unions must plan for one.
Those three phases are:
1. general strike in an industry
2. general strike in a community
3. general national strike
We need to move away from being on the defensive and move toward a good offensive.
The American Federal of Labor (AFL) could not have held a general strike if it wanted to because they had thousands of different contracts that expired at different times of the year. This was done deliberately so that there is no consolidation of power for a general strike. Also, nowadays, there is no law agency that will support labor, except the National Labor Relations Board (NLBR), which has been under attack and in decline for years.
This leaves the burden of change up to unions, and unless unions work together, little will change. We essentially have a combination of job trusts, which are not as strong as contracts, and the courts can break easily because the NLBR will be further weakened and essentially eliminated under the new political administration.
Starting this year, labor must look at all contracts and start trying to get all to expire as close together as possible on or near the same day at midnight. This is what the United Auto Workers is trying to do at this very time.
The biggest problem to overcome is how long can the members last without essentials like food, which can be fixed if we start planning now.
The Sheet Metal union members in my local had, what we called, a Christmas fund where each member put money into this fund in the event of a strike and food banks for members and members who volunteer to train in and participate in the big strike. We could have drills and local emergency training for volunteers.
It will make our unions stronger by starting local and then going statewide, which will give unions experience in striking, providing experience in striking. All this will make unions stronger by working together.
Yes, it is feasible for unions to win a big national strike and obtain a four-day work week with full pay, all forms of healthcare, free education, no tax on Social Security or retirement pay, no property tax on retirees homes so they can stay in their homes. Think these are wishful thinking, check out other countries that provide these and other benefits for its retirees (which, unfortunately are under attack by greedy corporations now).
Labor Leaders of the Month:
Shawn Fain, AUW
Jimmy Williams Jr, IUPAT
Have FBI agitators infiltrated our labor unions like the FBI did during black rights movement, feminist movement, and anti-Vietnam protests to sow the seeds of division between the factions and Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammed—to control and disrupt our labor movements from the inside? We don’t know at this time, and is anyone in the media or government looking into this? The war on labor and the effort to drag us back to serf wages is coming from within the White House with some labor union and MAGA members. Corporations are padding their accounts and of one greedy man instead of its workers. The war on labor is and will be fought between corporation titans and labor, and at this time the corporations will use the White House, courts and the FBI and even those at Homeland Security and I.C.E. against us. Labor must educate our members on how counter and what tactics are being used by the corporations and government against labor and the average person in general. How many people have lost...
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