your union needs to have dues

bemusedlybespectacled:

there’s a debate on here right now that goes like this:

“we should strike on election day!”
“but it won’t do anything.”
“but historically strikes had power!”

yes. yes they did. but there’s a slight difference between then and now.

think about it. mill and factory workers in the industrial revolution worked longer hours for less pay and no benefits, and they needed those jobs to survive. why would they strike, when they had so much to lose?

they had a fucking strike fund.

why are people so afraid of striking? because if you’re in poverty, even taking a day off of work is a day without getting paid, and when you have a family to provide for, the thought of being without even those wages is terrifying. how do you alleviate that fear? you let them know that there’s a union-driven safety net. everyone contributes to the fund with their dues, and everyone draws from it according to their basic needs. sure, the funds won’t last forever, but if you plan well and keep it maintained, that gives you more bargaining power. it’s not the employers waiting to starve you out, it’s a game of chicken: your dwindling funds vs. their dwindling profits, who decides it’s not worth it first?

calling for a nationwide strike doesn’t do that because there is no safety net. you’re effectively only asking the people who can afford to take time off to strike, and ignoring everyone else. and if you really want your protests to have power, you can’t afford to ignore all those people.