As more strikes succeed, Kate Bahn, chief economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, says workers are more likely to organize them at their own workplaces.
As the economy opened up to women a half century ago, one in three working women was an office employee. As the clerical workforce grew by leaps and bounds, so did a sense of injustice among the women, leading to the founding of the 9 to 5 Movement.
Federal lawmakers failed to increase the minimum wage, but US workers made other gains, and they are setting their sights on new goals. But across the country, states and companies have raised wages in the wake of Fight for $15’s efforts.
Starbucks has undertaken an unceasing union-busting campaign since the first cafe unionized a year ago. But if the 114 cafes that saw baristas go on strike yesterday for its annual Red Cup Day are any indication, the company won’t be victorious any time soon.
The strategy of Bernie Sanders and members of the Congressional Squad is clear: grow the democratic socialist/progressive bloc in Congress and Democratic Party; stand up for the multiracial working class; and resist creeping fascism on every front.
Whether fighting to unionize or exercising the right to accept or reject negotiated contracts, workers are nurturing democracy where we most need it. If we are to save our political democracy, we must begin by establishing a beachhead for democracy in the workplace.
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