During the Trump presidency, U.S. unions initially opposed the rise of authoritarianism only symbolically. Over time, they acted more decisively. Where union members became active in the workplace, they succeeded in slowing the trend toward authoritarianism and sometimes achieved significant successes.
During the Trump presidency, U.S. unions initially opposed the rise of authoritarianism only symbolically. Over time, they acted more decisively. Where union members became active in the workplace, they succeeded in slowing the trend toward authoritarianism and sometimes achieved significant victories.
The level of unionization in the U.S. was only 10.7% in 2016. It had been falling for 50 years, as was worker income. Donald Trump promised to "Make America Great Again" through strict immigration policies, tough trade policies, and strengthening the police and military. He won a majority in the Midwest, once a union haven, and became president. 52% of white union members voted for him.
The first massive workers' protest began in February 2018 in West Virginia, where Trump won by a 42% margin. In the US, teachers have been experiencing falling real wages and austerity for years.
In West Virginia, their salaries ranked 48th out of the 50 states and public employees are banned from striking.
In the summer of 2020, the U.S. recorded the highest Covid 19 infection and death rates in the world. Systemic workers - including large numbers of immigrants, blacks, and people of color - were forced to continue working, often without adequate protective equipment or pay.
On May 25, 2020, police officers in Minnesota murdered George Floyd, an unarmed black man. The murder was filmed and went online. Huge protests against racism and police violence followed. It was a black-led class uprising.
The labor federation AFL-CIO declared its support for Black Lives Matter. But it was only gradually that individual unions became active. On June 19 (a holiday commemorating the end of slavery), the dockworkers union ILWU went on strike for an eight-hour shift at all 29 Pacific Coast ports.
The action was largely symbolic, but organizing workplace action on a large scale was a novelty for U.S. unions. They had previously insisted on a clear separation of labor struggle and political action.
With the current inflationary crisis, a new terrain is emerging for organizing workers who are once again most affected by neoliberal policies and their impact on unemployment.
Storytelling: Dario Azzellini, Illustration: Carina Crenshaw
This is a visual storytelling inspired by the article "Unions Against Trump's Authoritarianism" by Patrick Young, published in the anthology "If not us, who? Global Workers against Authoritarianism, Fascism and Dictatorships" (external link, opens in a new window) by Dario Azzellini. This graphic storytelling is published under the terms of the Creative Commons license CC BY 4.0! (external link, opens in a new window)Share, use or adapt this graphic narrative for your educational work. Don't forget to continue using it under the same conditions, crediting LINX and the authors!
#Democracy (external link, opens in a new window)#Unions (external link, opens in a new window)#ClassStruggle (external link, opens in a new window)#Neoliberalism (external link, opens in a new window)#Racism (external link, opens in a new window)#LabourStruggle (external link, opens in a new window)
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