Winning at Amazon — truly breaking its power over workers and working-class communities — would be a bellwether of the strength of our movement. It’s a challenge we must meet if we are to bring about the changes our society desperately needs.
Building a more powerful people’s movement for economic democracy will require the spread of a more expansive view of democracy, one that moves past individual rights and into the realm of shared responsibilities.
The culture of urgency is a trap because it keeps us from building enough power to win and it keeps us playing defense. It’s also exactly what the corporate news cycle, digital media platforms, and the race of capitalism teach us to do.
A year ago, all eyes were on the unionization election at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, where illegal union suppression tactics by Amazon helped sink the drive. Thanks to a court order, that vote is about to be rerun.
Today's labor upsurge could simply evaporate, but it's also possible that we're at the dawn of a new era, one in which the working underclass is drawn, like the industrial workers of the 1930s, into the mainstream and the labor movement is empowered.
Samantha Ferraro, postscript by Stephanie Luce
Organizing Upgrade
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has a national Restaurant Organizing Project that has helped support unemployed restaurant workers throughout the pandemic. The aim is to organize workers in the industry to reshape it in the long run.
The holiday season brought many of the risks and challenges of retail work to a head, from crowds and maskless customers to demanding bosses and supply chain problems.
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