Amplify Values In These Emerging Issues
#Strikesgiving: The Labor Force Strikes Back
Tis the season of big retailers appealing to the dark side of our spending impulses. Black Friday especially has given rise to counter-movements to encourage consumers to buy local through “Small Business Saturday” and to purchase from women- or Black-owned businesses. This year, the resistance to corporate greed and labor exploitation will be strong, with #Striketober continuing on as #Strikesgiving. Here are some tips and tools for how to frame conversations around Economic Opportunity this holiday season.
The current labor shortage following the “Great Resignation” of August has added leverage to #Striketober labor organizing, with some experts forecasting that successful strikes could give rise to new ones in the coming months. The COVID-19 pandemic has created fertile ground for Economic Security narratives that emphasize worker’s rights to safe labor conditions and fair wages. Labor strikes also create openings to uplift Community and Equal Opportunity narratives that remind audiences of how we’re stronger and more powerful together.
We should view this moment as a potentially historic opportunity to bring people into the resistance. See our Messaging Memo for tips on talking about unions and sample VPSA messaging for economic justice. And may the Force be with you and all of those on the picket lines.
For more information, visit:
- The Center for Popular Democracy’s Unemployed Action campaign
- AFL-CIO’s blog and “State of the Unions” podcast
- NPR’s segment on All Things Considered, “3 reasons labor strikes are surging right now — and why they could continue to grow”
- Bloomberg Businessweek, “Workers Press for Power in Rare Advance for U.S. Labor Movement”
Hashtags: #Strikesgiving; #IASolidarity; #PassThePROAct
