A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #339 - End of year 2023 in the United States: what to expect next? (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

We have heard a lot about strikes in the United States recently, and 
particularly in the automobile sector, with a strong return of unions 
(at least in the media). Let's take the time to analyze the social 
dynamics and the balance of power at work at the start of the 
presidential election year. ---- The numbers are clear: 2023 is a record 
year for the social movement in the United States. The statistics office 
noted 33 major strikes (more than 1,000 strikers), the first time since 
2000 when there were 39. The figure is still well below the pre-Reagan 
period when there were between 200 and almost 500 major strikes each 
year. But, as we saw in the previous article (see "United States: the 
reasons for the anger", Courant Alternatif 335, December 2023), this 
reflects the reuse of the strike as a tool of struggle by American workers.
This dynamic, on the other hand, did not make it possible to initiate a 
rise in unionization (see "A small step for unions among economic 
giants", Courant Alternatif 321 June 2022). As in 2022, unions remain 
numerically weak: the rate of unionized employees is stable at 10%. The 
strikes carried out in 2023 still succeeded in intimidating company 
management who now fear the strike and give in during preliminary 
negotiations. Let's look at the two major strikes of the year 2023 and 
try to suggest what 2024 could bring in terms of class struggle in the 
United States.

Since the election of Shawn Fain as head of the UAW (United Auto Worker) 
after an anti-corruption campaign, the union has firmly prepared for the 
negotiation of the future collective agreement (contract) whose 
expiration was scheduled for September 2023 .
After 41 days of strikes, the three main manufacturers (Ford, Stellantis 
and General Motors) agreed to negotiate with the union. The agreement 
was then passed by a majority, although voices were raised to ask for 
the movement to continue. We can understand them: the gains obtained, 
salaries and the beginning of the elimination of the "two-tier" system 
rather constitute a catch-up of what had been lost during the previous 
negotiations after the 2008 crisis (the union leadership had agreed to 
do pay the crisis to employees to "save jobs"). But, beyond the 
contract, the progress of the strike itself allows us to bring out 
interesting elements for the continuation of the struggle.
Of the 150,000 UAW members working in the automobile industry (and the 
majority among the 3 giants), the strike mobilized 50,000 people. This 
weak mobilization is the result of a deliberate strategy emanating from 
the union leadership. It consisted of announcing strikes    by surprise 
in certain factories but not in others. This made it possible to 
surprise the managers and create a rotation: the strikers taking turns 
so as not to lose too much salary. Despite the victory, this is the 
aspect which, in my opinion, was the most worrying in the movement. The 
strike was orchestrated by a small, highly placed group, which left 
little autonomy both in the struggle and in the nature of the demands.
Although this strategy did not significantly block production, it 
rallied a large part of American public opinion. Joe Biden and Donald 
Trump were even forced to appear publicly on picket lines. The latter 
were also particularly well maintained. To thwart attempts to break the 
strike by managers, strikers did not hesitate to completely block access 
to factories, thus defying state or federal anti-union laws. They were 
also places where solidarity was expressed between workers from 
different sectors. Even before the start of the movement, delivery 
unions had announced that they would not cross the strike pickets. Other 
solidarity actions were also carried out by unionists from Starbucks 
Workers United (SBW) and activists from the DSA (Democratic Socialist of 
America) party.

Since this strike, the UAW has decided to turn to non-unionized workers 
in the auto industry, concentrated mainly in the south of the country. 
The organization aims to organize 150,000 workers in the near future. To 
achieve this objective, the UAW no longer favors secrecy but rather 
seeks to build a dynamic that goes beyond the framework of the factory. 
Once the threshold of 30% of cards has been signed, the union makes its 
approach public and includes the entire community in the discussions 
(families, neighbors, associations). This strategy is very interesting. 
By taking the fight out of the workplace, the union aims to involve the 
community.
Given the UAW leader's comments, we can hope that this promotes 
anti-capitalism.

The actors' and screenwriters' strike also made a lot of talk in 2023. 
It stands out from that of the automobile sector by its duration (118 
days for the actors and 148 days for the screenwriters), its strong 
mobilization and above all by its impact on the industry. The production 
of numerous films, series, late shows and even promotional tours has 
been stopped. The pickets were numerous and well maintained. Just as 
with automobiles, they have also been places of discussion and 
solidarity, particularly between actors and screenwriters.
The negotiated agreements were an important victory in these sectors. In 
addition to an increase in remuneration, the agreement made it possible 
to establish a framework for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in 
the sector. The tool is not banned but cannot be used to deprive a 
screenwriter or an actor of their work. Since federal or state laws are 
unlikely to evolve to protect workers, this may inspire other industries 
to demand similar agreements in future disputes.

As we saw at the beginning of the article, unionization remains at half 
mast. Outside of the automobile industry, certain sectors are leading 
the unionization drive (notably research and higher education). This is 
the case of Starbucks which currently has 387 unionized cafes (out of a 
total of 17,068 in the country). After multiple legal and media battles, 
the company agreed to negotiate with the young union (August 2021). The 
gains that could be made by this very active union could motivate more 
cafes to join.
If Starbucks' anti-union strategies have failed to stop the movement, 
Amazon's are working. Only one warehouse managed to complete the 
unionization process in April 2022 and several elections led to the 
rejection of the union in others. Amazon has also joined SpaceX and 
Trader Joe's (known for their anti-unionism) in their call to declare 
the NLRB unconstitutional. The NLRB (National Labor Relation Board) is 
the federal agency responsible for ensuring respect for union rights and 
the recognition of unions in businesses. This accumulation of complaints 
by these giants risks allowing the supreme court, largely far-right 
since Trump's mandate, to give an opinion on the subject.
More generally, Republicans are waging offensives across the country to 
reduce the rights of American workers, which are already very weak by 
European standards. Several states are trying to toughen their laws to 
hinder union membership or union negotiations. At the same time, some 
states are trying to pass laws to make it legal for minors to work in 
increasingly dangerous and exhausting positions (for ridiculous pay), 
all to legalize a prohibited but already common situation.

The intensity of 2023 can be explained by the expiration of several 
contracts (collective agreements) which allowed unions to mobilize quite 
widely. From this point of view, fewer expirations are expected in 2024. 
Two sectors will, however, attract our attention: rail and Post. In 
these industries, the strike is even more restricted (the rail strike 
was broken by a congressional vote in 2022). Rail alone is capable of 
blocking the country's economy. It will be interesting to see if, 
following the strikes in 2023, a strike in this sector will take place. 
We can even expect excesses from the base which could lead to illegal 
actions under American labor law. The Democrats will then be all the 
more bothered as this expiration coincides with the electoral calendar.
More generally, it will be interesting to follow the evolution of the 
struggles but also the re-emergence of class consciousness among 
American workers. Links are made in certain local struggles, whether 
union, anti-racist, environmentalist (Cop City in Atlanta), 
anti-imperialist (Israeli-Palestinian conflict) or feminist (IVG).
Faced with this, the Democrats are increasingly less convincing while 
the supremacist far right is trying by all means to regain power and is 
already preparing a constitutional coup d'état.
The task is immense for the American proletariat.

Quicheman

Some keys to understanding the context
* In the United States, collective agreements (contracts) were short and 
roughly synchronized across different industries before the 1950s. Since 
then, they have been quite long and out of sync. This does not encourage 
the establishment of joint strikes, especially since solidarity strikes 
were made illegal after the Second World War.
nly a union can negotiate a collective contract which will then apply 
only to its members. Before that, it must be recognized after a vote by 
employees. To trigger this vote, 30% of employees must show that they 
wish to be represented by signing cards sent to the NLRB. It is this 
federal agency which then supervises the election.
* After several corruption scandals, the UAW leadership was largely 
replaced and a new president, Shawn Fain, was elected. The latter 
regularly makes the headlines with assertive anti-capitalist remarks. 
Even if he did not hesitate to give his implicit support to Joe Biden 
for the 2024 election.

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4143
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