Thoughts on the shifting dynamics of labor power? I'm personally pleasantly surprised at how what was once thought implausible is happening and the pendulum is shifting away from capital and toward labor in terms of bargaining power.
The first incarnation of this trend seemed to be entirely "unconscious" if you will, and was triggered by the pandemic and workers spontaneously and collectively deciding to reconsider their the deals they were getting selling their labor, forcing wage increases and other worker-friendly structural changes.
This recent bit of news points to a more structured and consciously organized labor movement, with 100k workers across various unions preparing a synchronized strike action:
>Workers in various industries nationwide are threatening to go on strike in a sweeping effort to secure higher pay and better working conditions.
>More than 100,000 unionized employees — between Hollywood production crew members, John Deere factory workers and Kaiser Permanente nurses — have overwhelmingly voted to authorize strikes and are preparing to join the picket line unless they get stronger collective bargaining agreements.Source:
https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/576456-more-than-100k-workers-threaten-strikes-as-unions-flex-musclesWhat is most promising is the level of coordination and unity across industries as it is proof that the fragmentation and atomization of workers has fallen short . Thus a key barrier has been overcome.
Does these two developments hint at a resurgence in labor movements for the first time in decades? Capital has succeeded for decades in crushing collective bargaining, but they could not have anticipated something like the pandemic forcing their carefully planned arrangement to slip out of joint.
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