We Stood Together to Protect Our Rights
By Anonymous
When union organizers prepare our unit members to go on strike, we spend a great deal of time reassuring them, easing their fears of retaliation, and spurring them into action. But when it comes down to it, even the most experienced organizers have to admit the truth: going on strike is scary!
After all, union-busting bosses spend thousands—sometimes millions—to make the idea of striking as terrifying as possible. They threaten to take away our pay and benefits, they hire scab workers to replace us, they fearmonger about how a strike will hurt the company, and they insult us every step of the way, all with the goal of making us think we aren’t worth a fair contract. They want us to think that the risks of striking outweigh the benefits and give up before we start.
In many cases, these tactics work. Countless strikes have been defeated by bosses scaring employees back to their desks or turning them against one another. Going on strike is a nerve-wracking proposition, especially if you might be out for a long time—but sometimes you have no choice. That was the case for my newsroom union, which walked out in the summer of 2023.
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