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Title: OurWalmart or Their Walmart? Author: Prairie Struggle Date: 2013 Language: en Topics: trade unions, Canada Source: Retrieved on July 8, 2014 from https://web.archive.org/web/20140708223726/http://www.prairiestruggle.org/news/ourwalmart-or-their-walmart
In recent weeks the American labour movement has been boosted by strike
actions at Wal-Mart and various fast food corporations--all of which
have historically been near impossible to organize into business unions.
It is hardly a secret that the campaigns, OurWalmart and
FastFoodForward, are in collaboration with the United Food and
Commercial Workers, and the Service Employees International Union and
several community groups. Moving forward past the days of action, and
the successes they brought, members of the Prairie Struggle Organization
offer the following reflections on these unique strike actions, and this
new turn as a whole.
First, we think this is a great development in the labour movement.
Wal-Mart workers worldwide receive poverty wages and struggle to survive
while six Waltons are worth more than 1/3^(rd) of the entire United
States. Fast food workers are in a similar position, where any effort to
speak out often results in job loss. Yet, there have been very few
reports of retaliation for the OurWalmart strikes, and when one Wendy’s
worker was fired in retaliation for their strike, immediate occupation,
and blockade of the restaurant in question immediately reversed the
firing. Thus, it is progress when the “formal” labour movement has
realized the values of community organizing and the true power of
solidarity en masse, which they seemingly have.
However, we must also make calls on the workers participating in these
campaigns. Prairie Struggle, while an ally to unions, recognizes the
affect bureaucracy can has in taming worker self-organization and
action. Therefore, we call on workers at Wal-mart and in the fast food
industry to continue taking ownership of these campaigns. While it
remains to be seen if UFCW, or SEIU will push to have these workers
formally join their unions, workers should proceed on any route
remembering why unions have failed to organize their industries in the
past, and why these unions have involved themselves in such non-typical
organizing methods now.
Business unions are legally bound to laws that severely limit when
strike actions may occur. This is critical when dealing with the largest
retailers, and corporations that are insulated from other kinds of
action. Even if unions weren’t restricted in these way, turnover rates
in these industries are so high that the organizing capacities of
business unions likely cannot meet the challenge alone. Hence, unions
have embarked on this new path hoping to maintain sustained pressure.
Workers must maintain leadership in these alliances because the workers
interests are what holds this alliance together. When our interests
become intertwined with those of large organizations, these
organizations can co-opt our interests for their gain. Sadly, this is
always a risk with business unions, where many bureaucrats resist giving
workers decision-making power in fear of losing their pontoon boats.
Therefore, workers must be vigilant because our partners benefit for
helping us in our risks, but this can quickly transform to us taking
risks for the benefit of our partners.
Related to this is our concern about the dedication of these unions to
these campaigns. It appears unions have organized with these workers,
and community allies to use solidarity to make chain-wide demands,
establish mass strikes, and fight back against retaliation. However,
will this continue when business escalates retaliation? Recent studies
have found that up to 12% of the food preparation workforce was
“undocumented”, do these unions and community partners have a plan
protect these workers too? Will unions confront government over
immigration policies in a substantive, meaningful way? Do bureaucrats
even have the knowledge of how to fight these kinds of retaliation?
Union organizers, community partners and foremost, the workers involved
in these campaigns have hopefully realized they are confronting head-on
the relationship between the ruling class and working class, and that
successfully challenging this relationship will require more than
one-day strikes, and solidarity rallies. It will require nothing less
than workers uniting as a class, and expressing the class antagonisms
that exist regardless of race, migration status, gender... in continuous
solidarity, and escalations of action.
This new combative spirit within union bureaucracy is sign of a long
awaited change needed within the labour movement. But not to be fooled,
we must recognize that this new spirit was mostly brought on by union
bureaucracy being directly attacked by the Boss’ and goverment. Our
position on unions should be clear. What we collectively strive for
within the labor movement is the workers gaining leadership of theses
unions through organic democracy, and struggle. By leadership we mean
collective control of the union by the workers. A union built on
dedication to the class struggle, not priveleges afforded based on
position, salaries or loyalty to political parties. A minimum
bureaucracy in service of the union, not in control of it. We support
the workers leading the OurWalmart and FastFoodForward campaigns but
advise that militant democracy and solidarity guide whatever path this
struggle takes.
Direct action gets the goods!
Always in solidarity!
Towards a combative, democratic labour movement!
Prairie Struggle Organization