International Socialism Project

The UAW now has the opportunity—perhaps its last—to revive the class struggle, which is the only way to begin to reverse the balance of class forces weighted so heavily in favor of the employers for so long.

“Even a plurality of voters who have an unfavorable opinion of labor unions (48%) support the strikes.”

Wages and adequate staffing are the central issues in the strike. These issues go hand in hand. Wages have to be high enough so that workers will want to stay at Loretto and not move to higher paying hospitals. With the recent state funding, management could certainly pay for the union demands.

On July 29th, our website posted an article by Adam Shills arguing that the contract is an important victory. Here we post a different point of view by Joe Allen, in an article that first appeared in CounterPunch.

Both trade union activists and the business press have been closely following the negotiations between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) for some time. Then, on July 25, the big news came. The IBT had signed a tentative agreement with UPS. The purpose of this article is to explain what is in the new agreement and the attitude that socialists should take.

UPS has told management and supervisors to be at work in early August to handle a possible strike. So there may be some serious contingency planning behind the “win-win” veneer. Interestingly, UPS competitors, such as FedEx, are positioning themselves to sweep in and grab UPS customers if there is a strike.

Industrial strikes are rare enough today. So when two occur within a few months of one another and literally a few minutes’ walk from one another, it’s worth paying some attention. This is what’s happening in Bedford Park, an industrial suburb just south of Chicago.

The new young trade unionists desperately need the skills, knowledge, and toughness of the older generations. The old established unions need the drive, vigor, and esprit de corps of their new comrades. When these two trends merge, the labor movement will be back on the road—with a vengeance.

“Politicians are happy to voice platitudes and heap praise upon us for our heroism throughout the pandemic,” said one rail leader. “Yet when the steel hits the rail, they back the powerful and wealthy Class 1 rail carriers every time.”

At the top of the ballot, Amendment 1, also known as the Workers Rights Amendment, offers voters the chance to constitutionally protect the fundamental right of Illinois workers to unionize and collectively bargain over wages, hours, working conditions and economic benefits.

When one looks at the American labor movement today, one immediately sees an important contradiction. There are very few strikes, yet a considerable number of young people, most prominently at Starbucks, are organizing into unions.

The expectation of a strike wave in October, dubbed “Striketober”, was greatly exaggerated by both the mainstream and left press. Amazon, however, is the real thing. The sheer numbers involved show this is a real victory.

If the board decides to continue on a confrontational course,  the Chicago labor movement will have to come to the aid of our brothers and sisters at Proviso.

A recent article on this site analyzed the recent period in the US that many were calling Striketober. The purpose of today’s piece is to look at developments since then.