#StrikeTober

Ilo Kajin M̧ajeļ: https://aejemjem.com/kotopar-striketober

Written by: Caleb Klipowicz

Maybe you’ve seen the hashtag #StrikeTober on social media this month and thought, what’s going on? There have always been strikes but because of the increase in October, some people on social media began to use this hashtag – Strike + October.

Most strikes happen when union members are dissatisfied with low pay, long hours, and unsafe conditions.  Unions negotiate on behalf of the workers to improve working conditions or to increase pay and benefits.  Sometimes the union decides to organize the workers and strike.  When they refuse to work, it slows production for the factories, sometimes stopping production altogether.  This forces the factory to recognize the value of the workers and to reconsider how they are taking care of their workers.

Why are so many folks on strike? And why now? 

The pandemic has made working conditions worse – many people now see that their boss is willing to put them at risk, even die on the job, just to keep the money coming in. And as companies and billionaires make more profit than ever, everyday people continue to struggle. Working people are demanding change at long last.

In October alone, tens of thousands of nurses, students, and factory workers across the US have gone out on strike. The US hasn’t seen this number and size of strikes in many years. The communications director of one large US union, the AFL-CIO, recently told ABC News that, “I think workers have reached a tipping point. For too long they’ve been called essential, but treated as expendable, and workers have decided that enough is enough.” It’s like a wave.  A few people protest and then more workers join with them. Now seems to be the time to take dramatic action in the workplace.

Last month I was able to visit one of the picket lines for an on-going strike against John Deere, the tractor manufacturer, in Ottumwa, Iowa. Members of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 74 – the union at the plant – told me the community is behind them 100%.  This October there was a push by unions to shut down production at all 14 John Deere plants in the region.

I could feel the support as I saw folks donating food and drinks, showing up to the picket line, and honking as they drove by strikers in front of the plant.  More than one striker told me that even though people may come from different walks of life and hold different political views, they felt everyone could come together over this. The word in English for this is “solidarity”, meaning people are united behind a common cause [boro-kuk]. No strike can be successful without the solidarity, love, and support of the community behind them. And working people everywhere are starting to realize we are all on the same side.

Strikes used to happen a lot more in the past. But the 1990s saw new laws, like Arkansas’ Right-to-Work laws that infringe upon workers rights to strike.  We see a historic return as workers start striking again!  So far Arkansas hasn’t seen the same wave of strikes in #Striketober.  Unions might be new to most ri-Majol, though a Marshallese workers strike in Ebeye in the 1970s negotiated better pay with the Marshallese government and US military base on Kwajalein.  Still Arkansas has very strict anti-worker laws. But somewhere out there, the wave is building.

As Striketober goes into the holiday season, I think kajin majol has another lesson for us as well. I always liked that “ri-kajoor” is another word for ri-jerbal. In English, ri-kajoor means the people of strength, or of power. I think it is an excellent reminder that we, the working people, have immense power when we come together. Without us there would be no factories, no hospitals, no schools. It is our labor that makes the world move. I for one hope that Striketober is just the beginning. Now is the time for working people everywhere to find our power together!

Update: The UAW strike on John Deere included over 10,000 UAW workers in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas lasting 5 weeks, from October 14 – November 17.  During the strike, John Deere employees who work on yearly salaries like engineers and supervisors worked the basic operations. More than 50% of union members approved this current six-year contract which includes better terms than the contract proposed before the strike.  This agreement includes a 10% pay raise for employees and regular pay increase for cost of living. See the Des Moines Register for the more on this.