Academic workers on strike at the University of California, Berkeley in November
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Why are workers striking right now?

During the past few weeks, worker strikes have increasingly appeared in the headlines along with many questions over the state of the American job market and economy. From rail workers to journalists, workers are protesting for better pay, working conditions, and a stronger voice in company affairs. Although many strike stories have become widely seen and talked over, the root causes still remain unclear.

Even though the protests can become difficult to decipher, the threat of a rail strike in November ultimately reached Congress, showing the clear hazards involved in such large-scale strikes. Rail workers in various states had warned of a strike if the often draining working conditions were not improved. In the end, Congress voted to halt the strike for rail workers with many lawmakers foreseeing instant damages to the U.S. economy with an estimated 2 billion dollars lost per day in the case of a pause on rail service. A crisis was averted at the cost of some key desires for rail workers, like the inclusion of a paid seven day sick leave, that lawmakers said would be voted on at a later date. Some representatives voted against the resolution in an effort to secure policies like the seven-day sick leave that rail companies have opposed as a greater number of workers would need to be hired. The rail strike illustrates how difficult working conditions can become a tense and potentially damaging national problem if delayed and overlooked. 

Workers at The New York Times organized a walkout that sought for improvements to company policies, such as pay increases, yet ultimately remained in a similar state of gridlock and with dissatisfaction like the rail workers. Union employees at The New York Times under the NewsGuild of New York, which represents those employed in media, walked out after the news company missed a deadline for a new contract. Company employees against the strike describe how the walkout appeared as “extreme” when negotiations seemed to be stable, demonstrating a lack of communication between both sides. 

Strikes have steadily decreased since the 1970s with a major uptick in 2019 that triggered strikes in the following years. The recent increases in strikes may point to more general discontents with labor and the workplace. In the past few months, trends like quiet quitting, a concerted lack of effort in one’s job which may result in being let go, have steadily risen. According to Gallup, around 50% of the U.S. workforce are quiet quitting, and the loss of productivity due to this lack of motivation globally costs around $7.8 trillion dollars, around 11% of the world’s GDP. 

Hundreds of New York Times journalists and other staff protest outside the Times’ office after walking off the job for 24 hours, frustrated by contract negotiations that have dragged on for months in the newspaper’s biggest labor dispute in more than 40 years, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

These enormous losses signal problems in the workplace which many owe to the role of the pandemic and teleworking. The pandemic has significantly changed the makeup of the labor market with many jobs moving online, and workers becoming satisfied by the flexibility of working from home. According to the Pew Research Survey, around 59% of employed adults who are able to complete their job remotely are choosing to work from home. Additionally, the Survey found that 60% of employed adults who previously rarely worked from home now find it easier to balance work and personal life in the online setting, but 60% have felt less connected to their coworkers, indicating a general satisfaction with life outside of work but a disconnect to one’s workplace.

Both the rail strike and The New York Times walkout help to frame these recent trends. The protest at The New York Times indicates a disconnect between leaders and employees, reflecting the trend of a loss of relationships within companies. Similarly, the possibility of the rail strike indicates an overall feeling of demotivation because of a reduction of the workers’ ability to express their complaints. Depicting this shrinking morale, Ross Grooters, a locomotive engineer in Iowa, described how, “If we can’t get relief, it’s going to be very hard to find people that are willing to do this work…” Sources of these tensions seem to stem from a lack of understanding on both the part of employers and employees as well as an attitude of insignificance in employees within the broader organization that manifests itself in more severe forms of action.

Evidently, changes need to be made to the workplace in order to promote greater satisfaction and healthier communication. Mounting pressure continues to be applied to companies to promote policies that support employees’ wellbeing and allow their opinions to be heard. Unrest may still continue over the next few months with inflation continuing to outpace workers’ wages, and the possibility for narrowing in the currently more open job market. 

Sources:

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gallup_access_branded&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQjw54iXBhCXARIsADWpsG-dvSXXa2CHuDpQAysF3ES20y1fYBEQb3EycTtImjIUtnsDfi7I5lYaAsPtEALw_wcB

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/403598/need-answer-quiet-quitting-start-culture.aspx

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/02/16/covid-19-pandemic-continues-to-reshape-work-in-america/

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/new-york-times-staffers-walk-out-after-contract-talks-fail-2022-12-08/

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/dec/07/new-york-times-strike-walkout

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/16/railroad-workers-unions-congress-biden-working-conditions

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-urges-congress-act-avert-potential-rail-strike-2022-11-29/

https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-strikes-congress-government-and-politics-055609b54cfd5d21de0f42fccddff22b

Photos:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/us/uc-workers-strike.html

https://www.nytimes.com/article/railroad-strike-explained.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-08/ny-times-nyt-strike-for-pay-benefits-is-first-in-40-years

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