the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Nov 27, 2023
Here are some strikes that are currently going on in the U.S. These strikes may remain isolated and separated today. But others could join them. New strikes arise almost every week.
Four hundred cashiers and other workers at three Macy’s stores in Washington State picked Black Friday, one of the year’s busiest shopping days, to go on strike for more wages, more staffing, and more security.
One striker of UFCW Local 3000 described the staffing as “skeletal.” Another said, "We’re tired of being frightened and endangered at work," when assaults by angry customers and shoplifters are more and more common.
Workers are reminding Macy’s that not only are they essential—it’s essential that they get more help to do their jobs!
Starbucks Coffee’s Red Cup Giveaway Day was interrupted by unionized workers at over 200 Starbucks stores nationally. Starbucks Workers United went on strike for the day, November 16, to protest Starbucks’ long-drawn-out refusal to bargain with their union.
Staffing is a very big problem. The union stated that "On Red Cup Day, drink orders pile up and are abandoned, lines are out the door, and Starbucks workers are left to handle angry customers who have had to wait much longer than usual for their beverages and food, all while trying to make complicated holiday specialty beverages as fast as possible. When the supply of red cups runs out, customers get disappointed and often take their anger out on workers."
Hospital staff at three HCA hospital centers in Riverside, California, began a five-day limited strike action on November 22. Staffing is a critical issue. Hundreds of nurses and techs have left because of short-staffing stress.
Over the last three years, California Department of Public Health officials determined there had been hundreds of staffing violations at each of the medical facilities. HCA acts like it is above the law.
Safety is far behind profit as a priority. For example, in-person attendants for patients at risk of falling were eliminated. The at-risk patients are now monitored from afar by a video center! No helping hand has yet been extended from a screen....
The 2,400 workers of SEIU Local 121RN are up against mega-chain HCA, with 182 hospitals and more than 2,300 medical centers in 20 states and the United Kingdom.