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Last month, many sports teams were confronted with one of the most important work actions in the United States: a huge work stoppage in the hospitality industry nationwide, with more than 7,700 union of striking hotel workers.
On October 4, 2018, when the New York Yankees baseball team was spotted crossing the picket lines of hotel workers in front of the Ritz-Carlton in Boston, they gnawed online for their lack of solidarity with the workers there. A week later, the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team crossed the same picket line to stay at the hotel, whose striking workers are mainly women, people of color and immigrants. The Edmonton Oilers ice hockey team has crossed the border from Canada, as well as the picket line same thing on October 9th and now, last week, the Philadelphia Flyers Ice Hockey Team got engaged exactly offense.
Why is it so bad that they and their unionized cohorts have crossed the Marriott picket line? Why is the concept of "never crossing a picket line" important? What does it mean to go on strike or to be a scab? Let's describe it using these recent examples.
A strike is a planned work stoppage that occurs when union members collectively agree to refuse to work until their demands are met. This usually happens after the termination of the contract negotiations and the vote of a majority of members to authorize the strike, as did the Marriott employees.
The four teams mentioned above have incredibly strong unions support them and enjoy the benefits of the lucrative collective agreements of these unions. Thanks to the players union, the Yankees and the other 29 covered teams are among the highest paid athletes in the world, the paychecks of players reaching millions.
Meanwhile, the average hourly wage for a hotel cleaning lady in America is $ 10.64. Marriott strikers have been on strike since October 3rd. In Boston alone, about 1,500 Marriott International employees went on a national strike to improvement of health care, higher wages and enhanced protection against sexual harassment. They are part of more than 7,700 unionized hoteliers other major US markets for Marriott, comprising Detroit, Maui, San Jose, Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego. Unite Here Local 26, whose Marriott employees are members, represent More than 270,000 US and Canadian members working in the hospitality, gaming, restaurant and airport industries called for a hotel strike following six months contract negotiations.
Marriott strike workers are putting their livelihoods at risk in the hope of change for the better, and union members from all sectors need to support their efforts, regardless of their differences. The fact that a union member crosses a picket line, as did these sports teams, is a sign that they do not care about the strike or have actively decided to go there. oppose. Be that as it may, they have shown that they have sided with the management towards the striking workers.
All of this happens during the current Trump administration process war on work and following a recent wave of strikes across the country – from teachers at fast food workers, which have apparently generated increased public interest in striking workers and unions in general. Striking workers at Marriott are do the work history here, and their efforts follow a long list of examples of successful strikes that have changed the country. It seems that they also have an impact: Marriott is constantly evolving. lose money thanks to the strike and the bosses does not seem happy.
Historically, companies whose workers are on strike have hired outside workers – also known as "scabs" – to take their place, and have sometimes resorted to violence to break strikes, as evidenced by the case. from West Virginia. bloody mine wars which stretched from 1912 to 1921, or the uprising of 20,000 people in 1909 in New York, where several women garment workers, including union leader Clara Lemlich Shavelsonwere brutally beaten by strikebreakers hired by the company.
If the workers call the strike and one of their colleagues crosses that line and goes to work anyway, they undermine the ability of their union to negotiate with the employer, weakening collective power of the group. Work refusal is the last card in a union worker's game book and it is not a decision made lightly. No one likes to go on strike – it's not really a time of pleasure, especially if you take into account the impact on the workers, who lose time and wages – and that's why that it is considered a "nuclear option" when the negotiations really turned sour. Wall. Unions ensure mutual support, respect and solidarity to strengthen power. There is power in a union, and as emblematic Organizer of the National Farm Workers Association Caesar Chávez recalled we, "When a man or a woman, young or old, takes place on the picket even a day or two, it will never be the same again."
That said, let's go back to the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Oilers and the Flyers who crossed this picket line and thus manifest their contempt for the struggles of their fellow workers … the word "scabies" now seems more than appropriate. (This was particularly disappointing to see that of flyers, including the new mascot – an orange beast of chaos called Gritty – has captured the heart of the radical left and even been officially declared antifa by the Philadelphia City Council. It's safe to say that Gritty Worker Companion would not approve).)
Do not be like them. Instead support the striking workers, make a donation to strike fund when you can, and never cross a picket line!
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Related: The unsung heroes of the Latinx farm labor movement, from Maria Moreno to boycasters of fast food
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