U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said "no one wants a strike" but that car companies have enjoyed record profits in recent years without sharing them fairly with workers, hours after the United Auto Workers began strikes at Detroit's three biggest automakers.
WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said "no one wants a strike" but that car companies have enjoyed record profits in recent years without sharing them fairly with workers, hours after the United Auto Workers began strikes at Detroit's three biggest automakers.
Like so many issues in this country, it would be nice to have a major party that was actually in laborer's corner. Not in CorpMurica.
Oh, and Inb4 "herp derp that was a special case it would have disrupted national supply lines" no shit Sherlock, strikes are supposed to be disruptive, that is their entire point and method of leverage. Without it, you're just a group of beggars who appointed a spokesperson.
Taking away a union's power to automously decide to strike. Any deal offering to meet all union demands today in exchange for forgoing their right to leverage later is a long-term trap. Having the right to strike maintains some power balance between laborer and capitalist, however small.
Removing the right to take collective action from laborers puts them right back subject to the whims of what the employer chooses to or not give them in the future, which is what necessitated unions and collective action to begin with.
The act of striking when demands aren't met is essential to union's long term survival. A display of labor power to the wealthy interests that choose to forget.