On the picket line
The labor movement has had a growth spurt since the 2020 demonstrations against racism that followed the police murder of George Floyd. Adding to the surge was the bosses’ disregard for workers’ lives during the pandemic. From hospitals to schools to factories to retail stores, workers are rising up against the ruling class.
Now in 2022 there are worker-led victories over the mega-corporations Amazon and Starbucks!
Workers continue to wield the ultimate weapon of the strike – their ability to withhold their labor power until their demands are met and their rights are won.
Great Lakes Coffee workers have been on strike two months in Detroit, February picket line.
There have been hundreds of strikes in the past twelve months. Some were as short as a day and others have stretched for months, like strikes of the Brookwood coal miners in Alabama and the St. Vincent nurses in Massachusetts. According to the Cornell Industrial and Labor Relations StrikeTracking Tool, workers are officially on strike at these businesses and organizations, as of April 9:
- Starbucks, Washington State and Kansas, since April 6 and 8 (Starbucks Workers United)
- Maru Sushi and Grill, Michigan, since March 27
- Chevron Corporation/Richmond Refinery, California since March 21 (United Steelworkers/USW)
- Star Garden Topless Bar, California, since March 18
- Tangipahoa Parish School District, Louisiana, since March 3
- Eaton Corporation, Iowa, since Feb. 1 (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers/IAM)
- Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company, Michigan, since Feb. 16 (UNITE HERE)
- Cummins Northeast, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, since Feb. 12 (IAM)
- Sherwin-Williams, Ohio, since Feb. 5 (USW)
- Portland Pie Company, Maine, since Jan. 2
- Gary Merlino Construction, Stoneway Concrete, Cadman, CalPortland, Lehigh Cement, Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel, Washington state, since November 2021 (Teamsters/IBT)
- GoPuff, Pennsylvania, since October 2021
- San Antonio Symphony, Texas, since September 2021 (Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony)
- Stanford University, California, since September 2021 (Student Collective Action Against Residential Education )
- City of Pelham, Georgia, since July 2021
- SMG Exposition Services, New Jersey, since June 2021 (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees)
- Federal Industries,Wisconsin, since June 2021 (IAM)
- Coastal Building Maintenance, Florida, since June 2021 (Service Employees International Union/SEIU)
- Cummins Inc, California, since June 2021 (IAM)
- Johnson Brothers Distributing, Rhode Island, since May 2021 (IBT)
- Scheppers Distributing, Missouri, since April 2021 (IBT)
- United Metro Energy, New York, since April 2021 (IBT)
- Warrior Met Coal, Alabama, since April 2021 (United Mine Workers of America/UMWA)
