On a national strike...

[nadinbrzezinski]

we have had yet again another call for a national strike... don't worry, unless you listened to Malloy who mentioned it on the way out of his show... you have good reasons to have missed it.

So here is the deal.

I am peachy keen that people are calling for them. This is the third after all... but there is a problem...

Oh and at this point I am going to reach for this little thing called organizational theory and history.

The last one was in 1952 and that one was organized in such a way that the UNIONS got involved, not only in the actual day, but in things such as organizing the pesky thing and the logistics.

Just calling for a strike... and I have said we need one... (that works) is not enough. People who are your targets of a strike, aka the strikers... NEED TO KNOW that you have one in the works. In other words, you need a MOVEMENT... with a clear organization, and as much as people hate it, a clear command chain (and that includes the IRS looking over everything you do, as well as the FBI and all that ok. After all organizing in this way can be hazardous to your health... or at least the leader's health... don't care how many times you cite the First Amendment... history is on my side on this one. )

So I am peachy keen that this is the third one to be called... means at least some people in the "fringe" have realized something has to be done... but there is much more to a movement than just a call to action...

For those of you curious about it... here you go

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Just I figured it was time to point out that until there is a MOVEMENT that is more organized than a bunch of cats in a sack on to the river... well they will not work.

So here are the components that need to be worked on.

1.- Organization... an organizing committee is not out of the question.

2.- Reach to Unions... yes they are far from the union movement of 1952 and you can bet your sweet potatoes that they will be called commies et al... but that is a statement all on its own.

3.- Media... trust me, if oh 50% of the nation's workers staged a blue flu that lasted for more than one day... it would be a story. Oh and after a certain point firing people becomes not practical.

4.- It is not just about staying home... that is easy to ignore. People need to get out and protest during those strikes... make sure that people know why you are out there.

Now I am happy that this is the THIRD call for one... I know why it will fail...not being negative just realistic... so perhaps now people will realize it takes a little more than just going on the web and posting a call to action for that to happen.

That is all.

Oh and I am ready for the flame throwers...

PS: If we are going to actually go there, and as a nation we might have to... time to study both MLK and Gandhi... and ahem, see how exactly you use this, and to create and EFFECTIVE movement... against things such as NAFTA... oh and it takes more than posting on the web. At times I wonder if the American people have forgotten how to organize (yes) and if the web serves as a convenient binky (yes).

[dysfunctional press]

1. a 'national strike' is an entirely unrealistic expectation in this country in these times.

MANY of the people who actually HAVE jobs are scared to lose them-

in california, a lot of state workers work for free on their mandatory furlough days, for fear of their jobs.

a better bet, which requires just as much organization and cooperation- would be a MASSIVE march on dc. with the number of unemployed people in this country, a crowd of several million should be easy enough to accomplish.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. And a massive march will require people to miss work days

some of them to miss work days that they did not ask.

That is a strike.

By the way... a march on DC has the same chances of working as this third strike...

read some history... as to how many marches on DC have actually changed the dynamic...

I am serious.

Regardless, you want a massive march... what I said about organization still applies... ALL OF IT, including the lovely Federal Government harassment.

But you told me why people don't strike. You think workers back in the good old days didn't risk their jobs? Or for that matter life and limb?

People need to get a good history of labor and READ a little. Those who earned the 40 hour week, did so after years of strikes, harassment, getting their heads bashed in and firings.

[dysfunctional press]

11. what part of "with the number of unemployed people in this country" don't you understand..?

and i also pointed out that yes, organization would be required.

COMPREHEND a little.

as far as reading about history- that's all it is anymore. when those past strikes took place- much more of the labor force was unionized- that's just not how it is these days.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. and they were not there in 1910

or 1920...

Unions did not become legal until FDR...

They still managed.

We don't... we won't... that's the truth.

The backbone is gone.

[dysfunctional press]

22. you'll have to fill me in on those....

when i googled: 1910 national strike and then: 1920 national strike- i couldn't find any articles that spoke about national strikes in the u.s. in either of those years.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Read STRIKES... any labor organzing did not BECOME legal

until the New Deal.

Organizing WAS NOT LEGAL.

You knew that?

So today it is legal, but we do not organize, and give all kinds of excuses.

Sorry... but this country will not change until we have LEADERS, a NATIONAL MOVEMENT, not a party, a MOVEMENT, and a willingness to put all on the line. That is what it took to get... the forty hour week, and minimum wage laws.

It saddens me that people cannot connect those dots... but I don't blame you. NOBODY teaches the history of labor any more and the LABOR papers are gone.

You think that is a coincidence? You think it is a coincidence we are all told, YOU ARE middle class? POPPYCOCK most people are WORKING class, but middle class don't strike you see.

[dysfunctional press]

25. the topic is NATIONAL strikes- and you referred to the ones in 1910, and 1920...

i'm not aware of any NATIONAL strikes in the u.s. in either of those years-

because THERE WEREN'T ANY.

sheesh.

you seem to be pining for a past that never was.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. You stated taling of strikes in general

so there, I think we'd agree to disagree.

In your view this will never happen in the uS since it has never happened.

It did in 1952

Though under present conditions, where Americans have been beaten and broken... not even a local strike will happen... or they will be rare. And marches.... you are here today, gone tomorrow, we can continue to ignore you.

That is the truth.

And yes, we lack the organization, but mostly we lack the spirit.

Perhaps I was born in the wrong century, and hate the fact that we are becoming serfs. And nobody is willing to fight back, since the spirit is gone. The American people are shell shocked and broken.

[doc03]

2. And what would be the point of this strike, other than

putting the country into another Great Depression? The time for a nationwide strike was back in 1981 when Ronald Reagan fired the air traffic controllers. There aren't enough Union workers today to even match the teabaggers march on September 12. I would be willing to join you myself, trouble is I lost my job on April 17, 2009.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. You want NAFTA to be repealed or reformed

and what was the point of the strikes in the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, and yes even WW II?

The it will put the country into a depression, not that you know this, is a product of 30 years of RW propaganda.


If you convince the workers that this does not work... well then you take away one of their most powerful weapons.

[doc03]

7. The time to strike against NAFTA has long passed

that should have been done during the Clinton Administration. The people that gained by NAFTA (cheap foreign imports) far outnumbers those of us that have lost our jobs. You couldn't get more than a few Democrats from the rust belt to support repealing NAFTA. Besides that the American people don't have the stomach for a struggle these days. Have you ever been involved in a strike? I have been in one for 100 days and another for 10 1/2 months. We came back for what the company offered us before we went out both times.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. This is why labor keeps losing ground

and labor has no stomach for the struggle partly due to the propaganda.

I don't expect it to happen... because we all have all kinds of excuses... but if labor... the WORKING CLASS, ever truly wants the dynamic to change, well... the past is prologue.

Unfortunately the power of propaganda is so strong, that people have internalized the message that nothing will work. Well, what happened in Chicago at the factory... shows that yes... it is time, it can be done... and enough with the excuses. Will be easy? Has any real labor struggle ever been easy?

Oh and NAFTA... you have brothers and sisters that hate it not just in the rust bell... and more people have been affected by it than you think...

[doc03]

9. Believe me, like I said I have been in two lengthy strikes

one for 100 days and the other for 10 1/2 months. I'll tell you what happens, a good portion of the work force is in debt up to their necks paying for all their toys. Oh you have a strike vote and everyone is fired up and votes to go out. Then after some miss their first paycheck they are at the Union hall raising hell with the President to go back to work. It gets worse and worse until after a couple months or so you can't even get people to pull picket duty. When we had our 10 1/2 month strike I sometimes was the only person at the gate. Like I said after 10 1/2 months the Union comes up with a tentative contract (exactly like the one on the table day one). The District Director says this is a great innovative contract (they like to use the word innovative) and you have to vote to ratify it or you will never work again. I never fully recovered what I lost on that 10 1/2 month strike and that was over 10 years ago.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. I know the dynamic

and I will repeat what I said... one reason the working class keeps losing ground is exactly that...

The other is we need to pay for toys.

Well, we are serfs, willfully so.

Now a NATIONAL strike would change that dynamic.

I don't expect it to happen... or at least successfully, read the OP.

But I know why... and you just listed some of the reasons.

So the US is fucked... and we have done that to ourselves.

And people no longer have what it takes, and part of it is the massive propaganda... the massive right wing propaganda.

Mission accomplished.

[doc03]

14. We just voted our man into the Presidency

and took control of the House and Senate and the Republicans are still in charge. Enough Democrats are bought and paid for to prevent any change, I don't know how that will ever be changed. If there was a chance of a third party maybe but those in control have made that impossible. Both parties when they get charge are spending this country into bankruptcy, you have our party throwing money around like it's confetti and the Republicans only answer is more tax cuts. Someone will eventually have to pay the bill either in taxes or hyperinflated currency. Just like this health care bill, they now claim it will save $80 billion over the next ten years. Then at the same time they are voting to give Doctors $250 billion off budget. The SS recipients aren't due a COLA this year, their SS is remaining the same even though the CPI went down. If you consider that they are actually getting an increase. So to keep the seniors happy we are now going to give them a $250 bonus. We are broke folks, that money is being stolen from your children and grandchildren. Before you jump down my throat I will be eligible for that check next year. Thank you for your support.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. So what do you want to do?

I know all that. Things didn't really change in 1932 until things got heary, and the pro labor laws were passed only after the major strikes of the early 1930s.

No, FDR did not have a complaint Congress, he had a crisis and people willing to take to the streets.

We have a crisis... but people are not willing to take to the streets.

[hurricanesfan27]

5. I strike when my union tells me to

Thats it. I have no interest in striking for anything else.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Why it is critical to get the unions involved and as part of the MOVEMENT

thank you for proving the point

And welcome to DU.

[Ozymanithrax]

12. The problem with this call for strike, as with many others, is that there is...

no organization. Nadin nailed that, of course.

Another model is that of Ghandi. He used superb organization to make sure that each of his acts of non-compliance with unjust laws was given the widest possible media attention. He had people who would march for him. He had a population that cared about making a change.

The biggest problem that we face is people who look to Obama to change things but won't change their own lives by as much as a finger. Here at DU there are a lot of active people, but what percentage would pay to go to Washington and march. For most of us that is an airline ticket, a hotel room to stay in, food. But it takes a lot of organization to run something like that.

In order for it to work you would have to get some people with deep pockets and a willingness to shut a system down. You have to tell the media about it, and then you have the rattle the cage of the government to get them to act.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. And the history of marches is not that stellar

why I think marches may not be the best route any longer.

[Ozymanithrax]

21. one more before sleep.

Marches had their heyday under MLK. But, once again, his were superbly organized. Many of them, though intending to be non-violent, were designed to force the police and other organizations to act violently. Like Ghandi, MLK wanted to push authorities into a corner and when they were violent against MLK, they lost.

But in the 60's the news cycles were much longer. Kent State, or the freedom rides stayed in public awareness for weeks and months. Now days, there are 3 or 4 news cycles a day. A story critical to us as a nation will be knocked out of the place of prominence by a sensational story, such as a kid in a balloon or a naked dead blond. The media is easily manipulated by demagogues to draw attention away.

I don't know the answers, but to get the attention and keep the attention it has to be a long sustained effort. There is no quick fix. MLK was willing to work, and did work, for more than decade before he was killed. Who here are willing to agitate, march, strike, go hungry, go thirsty, be arrested, be beaten, be slandered for a goal that is ten years in the future. That is the value of a leader like Ghandi or MLK, who keeps his eyes on the prize no matter how far away. There is no one like that today.

[anonymous171]

17. Effective movements are local, not national.

For an example, I present to you the Seattle General Strike:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_General_Strike

http://depts.washington.edu/labhist/strike /

http://www.iww.org/culture/articles/zinn15.shtml

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Been a few decades right?

But that is one example of strikes that work.

That said, we don't have that level of organization.

People expect change to happen like mana from the sky. We elected OUR GUYS...

And that is the point.

We need organization and we need a MOVEMENT.

[1]

19. what would a one day national strike accomplish?

outside of the the organizational requirements you discuss, what are we striking for?

health care? ending the war? ending homelessness? living wages? gay rights? legalizing pot?

strikers generally have a common reason for going out (it can't be all of the above or the strike would be pretty useless.) strikes are generally targeted. shutting down a company or industry, not just annoying many. and check me if i'm wrong, but aren't most union contracts now pretty specific about strikes? you can't just strike for any reason.

just to show them we can doesn't cut it either. hell, most people would "strike" by calling in sick to ensure they got paid for the day. getting subsequent "one day" (or longer) strikes would get tougher as the man would crack down on the sick day ruse.

you have to have a galvanizing reason for a strike. some reason that the strikers would be willing to risk their livelihoods.



what is that reason here?

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. I referred to both MLK and Ghandi for a reason

it is not one day... it is as long as it takes.

And part of your organization work is to decide what your demands are... pure and simple.

Your target, protect American industry, re-regulate the markets, break monopolies, single payer health care, the things that people don't have the huevos to really demand. That progressive agenda the country seems to want, but not willing to demand.

You see in other countries the government fears the people, no, not a saying, the reality. In the US, the population is cowed to the point that we have excuses of WHY NOT... not how do we do this?

Oh and finally, do not worry... a strike will never happen in this country. The spirit is completely broken.

[bertman]

24. I could support a national ONE DAY strike for something like a strong public option

or pulling out of Afghanistan.

"As long as it takes" is not viable. It's just not gonna happen.

But I appreciate you bringing this up. I like the idea.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. One day they can ignore you

and this is why one day will fail... just like the marches do.

I know it will not happen in the US. The American population, as I wrote above, is shell shocked and broken down.

It saddens me.

Perhaps some day... but I doubt in my lifetime.

Yes, the fascist have won.

[bertman]

28. If there were a one-day general strike where even 50% of the American non-medical

workforce stayed home and did not buy anything, THEY would definitely not ignore us.

That is a very potent weapon. The one-day strike would serve as a "shot across the bow" that people are fed up.

As long as we Americans believe that the economy is picking up, that the government is doing something for us, and we don't personally have to go fight for the Empire, you're right there will be no serious action taken. But, if unemployment continues to rise, foreclosures continue to increase, our politicians continue to serve their corporate benefactors and not their constituents, and we keep funding these wars of choice, THERE WILL BE A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE. We are sedated, but not dead yet.

IMHO.

Keep the faith, Nadin. We need thoughtful, knowledgeable, committed people like you to educate us and inspire us.