We've seen a record number of worker Strikes across the u.s recently hundreds Of thousands of workers from the Assembly line to hollywood are demanding Better pay benefits and overall quality Of life the department of later is Reporting at least 12 worker strikes This year however cornell university School of industrial labor relations has Documented more than 175. This comes as millions of americans are Simply leaving their jobs in staggering Numbers for more on this i want to bring In huffington post labor reporter dave Jameson so dave we have seen the Unemployment numbers trend down but Thousands of workers across the u.s are Striking um explain the motive behind it And what sort of leverage that many Unions and their members see in this Particular point in history So the the lower unemployment Unemployment numbers actually help Workers in this situation because it's Creating a tighter labor market Which gives workers a lot of leverage I've talked to a lot of the workers who Are on strike or considering going on Strike And they talk about how it's been harder For their employers to find and retain Workers and so You know they sense that if this is a Good time to be making their demands and
That's certainly the case at a place Like john deere where 10 000 workers are On strike not only is deer dealing with This labor market there's also really High agricultural commodity prices right Now and a lot of demand for the farm Equipment that that John deere makes and so workers feel Like a lot of the wins are in their Favor right now so i think you know that Combined with frustration over uh their Treatment during the pandemic they see Their companies are actually doing Pretty well right now and they're They're expecting a bigger piece of the Pie than their companies are offering So that's what i wanted to dig into a Little more because i feel like there Are a lot of kind of movements that Occurred over the last couple of years That i don't think would have happened If not for the pandemic um people were Off they had the time to take to the Streets to complain about policing or Whatever it may be and in this case we See you know the pandemic also having an Impact on how people feel about their Jobs but also you know that conversation About what an essential worker is and How we should be treating essential Workers can you talk a little bit more About how the pandemic may have fueled These strikes yeah i think i think You're absolutely right and this applies
To to union workers who go on strike and The non-union workers out there who are Simply holding out for better pay or who Are quitting their jobs and moving to Other jobs you know at high rates right Now i think people's expectations have Changed a lot you know for sort of White-collar office workers they're kind Of thinking about Um is does my job kind of give me the Flexibility i want do i live where i Want to live Um you know in a case of a lot of these Union workers that are on strike i think Kind of the the pandemic sort of created A lot of frustration they were working Under very difficult conditions these Are um mostly uh um you know essential Workers as you said the people Considering strikes are on strikes right Now we're you know we're talking about Food production workers nurses things Like that And so they're not striking over the Pandemic per se but when i talk to them The pandemic comes up a lot they've been Under a lot of stress Um and they don't always feel like They've been treated fairly by their Employers during this time and they Certainly feel like they're not being You know rewarded financially in the way That that they should be so i think We're seeing you know this a lot of
Strikes happening now among union Workers but also kind of what what i i Call sort of a silent strike among a lot Of you know non-union workers out there Or people who are outside of the labor Market who would just rather you know Sit on the sidelines or quit their job And go somewhere else than than accept What their employer is offering right Now So dave could we see a situation develop Where More and more people are striking more And more people are refusing to take These uh jobs because of the wages and The lack of benefits which would then Compel Uh these companies to increase their Wages and to offer benefits which let's Be clear that that would certainly Affect Consumers and that would affect shoppers And retail and manufacturing there's a Whole trickle-down effect that happens Um but could this be a moment Where we for example see a plan to Implement a national um To increase The the minimum wage to the 15 Point across the country which many Lawmakers have advocated for Yeah when it comes to the minimum wage i Think we're already seeing a lot of Employers getting there just by
Necessity right uh companies and big Ones like amazon with all its warehouses Everywhere They're having a hard time you know Finding and retaining workers in a lot Of these markets that's not true Everywhere i mean there's still a lot of Workers out there who are having a hard Time Finding jobs this isn't true everywhere It's not true in every industry but a Lot of companies have had to raise their Wages to get people in the door and so We have seen you know wages going up I think the big question looming over This is this just kind of a temporary Thing we see a lot of workers flexing Their muscle kind of a lot of collective Action especially in these pockets where Where workers are going on strike i Think personally i think the jury is Still out on whether we're seeing Something lasting happening right a lot Of these strikes are happening in Areas where of the economy where unions Are still strong right we're talking About you know workers at kellogg's Right these are kind of legacy unions That have been around a long time we Know hollywood workers have been Threatening to strike hollywood is is a Union town and the unions are strong There um so you know i'm kind of waiting To see if this has a broader spillover
Effect this kind of militancy we're Seeing at certain companies right now You know does um Uh what workers at john deere are doing Right now does that spill over and and Raise the expectations of workers at Caterpillar you know a big a big Competitor of john deere so i don't Think we've seen kind of the Sort of the broad ripple effects yet but I think that that's what we should be we Should be looking for Is there a silent strike happening you Know we've been talking about unions and Organized labor but is there a silent Strike happening Where we're seeing people just not Wanting to do certain jobs Yeah i i think we are seeing that in Certain areas we certainly seen that in Hospitality right we hear a lot of Anecdotes about um restaurants saying It's been impossible to to find workers And i think in a lot of cases that's Overblown it the reality is a lot of Those workers don't want to accept the Wages and the compensation that the Restaurants are offering and so we have Seen wages going up quite a a bit in in That sector and in hospitality generally So i think um You take something like if you you know If you'd been a buster in a restaurant Or a server you just had a very trying
Year and a half you were laid off for Much of it um you know maybe you came Back to work at your restaurant and You're working in this new world where You're wearing a mask you don't kind of Maybe have the same interaction you used To and so so the job is changing and i Think people's expectations are changing And so so they're expecting more out of This and i think you know that's why When we hear a lot of employers say you Know man i just can't find anybody out There i i think that's a big piece to it Yeah well i for one i'm gonna be Watching to see what sticks and what Doesn't you know i'm with you uh dave i Think it's too early to tell i think Some things will stick but you know Uh chances are a lot of stuff will go Back to the way it was before but Hopefully we'll get to talk to you again In the future about that dave jameson Thank you so much Thanks a lot for having me
