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Specter of 'striketober' haunts US as workers face 'critical moment'

Friday, 22 October 2021 7:14 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 22 October 2021 7:14 PM ]

Wyatt Reed
Press TV, Washington

A specter is haunting America–the specter of “Striketober.” Upwards of 100,000 workers across the US are either currently on strike–or are potentially just weeks away from it–amid a historic wave of labor actions that’s taken the country by storm.

About 35,000 nurses and health care workers have voted to authorize a strike against healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente; 60,000 Hollywood crew members seem headed for a strike amid widespread rank-and-file disapproval of a deal negotiated by union management. And thousands of workers elsewhere have already walked off.

These are just some of over a dozen labor actions brewing across the country. As executives have seen profits soar amid the COVID-19 pandemic, workers are insisting on their own piece of the pie. And with supply chain issues plaguing distribution and “now hiring” signs popping up left and right, they’re wielding historic leverage to secure the raises and benefits they say management has been withholding for too long.

With the wind at their backs, many workers are looking to push their advantage and lock in the pay increases and workplace improvements that have been steadily eroded by decades of neoliberal governance and attacks on organized labor. And with no real sense for how long their window of opportunity will last, they say it’s time to strike while the iron is hot.

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