Scrappy Summer | Strikes, Israel, Heatwaves and More
Summertime rolls! It’s too damn hot and the bosses are ripping us off! In the latest Scrappy Sunday, Bob and Scott riff and rant on strikes galore, the Democrats (including…
UC Strike Enters Third Week, Banner Action at the Cal-UCLA Football Game w/ Adrian Wilson
The University of California (UC) academic worker strike entered its third week this week. The largest academic worker in U.S. history and the administration shows no signs of moving on demands. Pickets and walk outs have continued across the ten UC campuses. At the Cal-UCLA game on Friday in Berkeley, an independent group of strikers hung a massive banner off of two flag poles during the game.
: Scott talks with Adrian Wilson (@circleadrian), a striking UC graduate student-worker about the banner action and the strike.
There is Power in a Union As Thousands of Academic Workers Set to Strike in California
Over 36,000 academic workers across the University of California’s 10-campus system held a strike authorization vote. The vote passed with nearly 98% approval. The strike will begin on November 14th. Workers are demanding include increased compensation, access to sustainable transportation, more childcare assistance, and increased job security.
Listen in: bit.ly/3A7HTjJ
Scott talks with Galen Liang, a grad student and UAW 2865 member to get an update on the looming strike.
(Don’t) Play Ball! The MLB Owners Lockout, with Mike Elk of Payday Report
Mike Elk, frequent guest and great friend of Green & Red, sat down with Bob to discuss the Major League Baseball owners lockout of the players amid talks for a new collective bargaining agreement.
Listen in: bit.ly/MLBstrike
Mike and Bob discussed the history of free agency and the economics of baseball–billionaire owners
Strike! Mike Elk of “Payday Report” talks about current labor conflicts
Mike Elk of Payday Report joined Bob to talk about the current state of labor conflicts in the U.S. Huntington Steel, a Warren Buffet company, is on strike amid demands for givebacks. UPMC is on strike. IATSE and John Deere just settled.
Listen in here: https://apple.co/3FSmP16
BAmazon Pt 2! The Amazon Union Drive in Alabama w/ Alexander Richey of Payday Report
Part two of our series on the Amazon union drive in Alabama. We talk with Alexander Richey , the first-ever Bill Greider Grant recipient with Payday Report, about the situation on the ground as Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse prepares to vote on whether they will become the first unionized “Amazon Fulfillment Center.”
BAmazon! The Amazon Union Drive in Alabama, w/ Mike Elk of “Payday Report”
One of the most important union organizing drives in recent history is playing out in the Birmingham-Bessemer, Alabama area as Amazon workers are holding a union vote due to end next Monday. We spoke with Mike Elk, the creator and editor of “Payday Report,” about the situation in Alabama, the impact of Joe Biden’s endorsement, the intersection of Black Lives Matter and the union efforts, and Amazon’s attempts to intimidate and defeat the organizing drive.
#TDIH: The Wobblies Start the First-Ever Sit-Down Strike in 1906
In 1906, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) began the first ever sit down strike at the General Electric plant in Schenectady, New York
Three thousand IWW members stopped work at a General Electric plant by remaining seated in the building. This action was taken in response to the firing of three IWW members and the company’s refusal to rehire them. This is the first record of a sit-down strike of the 20th Century. When management called in scabs, the striking workers stood in place and took control of the machinery, making it impossible for the plant to be run by scabs.
One of the principal organizers of the action was the famous Irish Marxist, James Connolly.
An IWW leaflet retorted, “…the question of numbers does not enter into the matter. For the simple reason that if discrimination is permitted in one case. Who then can feel protected? The principle of organization is that protection reaches down to the last man.”