Striking a Balance: Understanding the Complexity of Union Strikes
- ayouthviewpoint
- Dec 5, 2024
- 3 min read
By Javier Estremera
On July 14th, 2023 around 60,000 Hollywood actors, both big and small, went to the streets demanding better working conditions. The strike lasted a whole 118 gruesome days, until November 9th, when they finally agreed on a contract that encapsulated various workers' demands. On the other hand, when the International Longshoremen’s Association went on strike for a whole 3 days, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) conceded to a tentative agreement until January 15th, 2025. While both of these unions wish to fight for better working conditions, each one faced diverse opposition, with some struggling more than others. So why is it so hard for some unions compared to others?
Are all strikes are the same? The reality is that some have it harder than others. The battle for doable working wages is a constant struggle between union workers and their colossal companies. Strong economic control and strong arming forces, fortune 500 companies typically managing to suppress any form of economic opposition. This is most notable with Disney, CEO, Bob Iger, always wanted to financially stall the rioters. In the hopes that the strike would eventually die down and collapse under pressure.
The actors and writers strike began through the flames of an abused system. Actors had to work for gruesome hours for little to no pay. Nothing compares to the amount of physical
depletion acting takes on one's body and mind. The few individuals that would reach the A list, were truly capable of making a substantial amount of money from this industry. On the other side, countless writers spend hours upon hours conjuring concrete and impactful storylines, just for the projects to be dismantled. Creating intricate story lines that captivate the reader and glue their eyes on to the screen. All of this work, sweat, and tears just for the producers to cancel the show after only 1 or 2 seasons. These exhausted workers took to the street with the demand of better financial stability, including protection from Artificial Intelligence removing their jobs.
On the other hand, the port workers strike was caused by the growing fear regarding Artificial Intelligence and the automation of ports in the United States. In the state of California, the Long Beach Automatic Terminal was the first ever port in the United states to be heavily automated by machine robots. In places like China, automation ports have already been constructed. But, there is obviously more to come, as studies have shown that these ports require more than half of the personnel that a regular port needs, with double the efficiency. These ports have made so many individuals lose their jobs; therefore, causing fear to the workers across the states on the East Coast. For this reason, they rioted and decided that across the East Coast, all ports would be shut down until the companies meet their demands. This strike only took 3 days, until USMX decided on a temporary agreement which would last until January 15th, 2025. Now this begs the question: Why did one side have it so much quicker than the other?
The first reason is the most straightforward answer. While it may be sad to say this, the truth is that these port workers are more important to the overall US economy than the alternative strike. While the strike only had great effects in California, and spread to other parts like New York, the port worker strike had put a halt to all East Coast Maritime trade. An important key to the American exportation productivity. Even if both sides have equal justifications for going on strikes, the battle between the nation's economy and a single state's GDP aren’t on equal levels. The second reason for these disparities, comes from the underlying battle that the actors and writers were facing. Unlike the entire US maritime economy, the strikers were battling against mega corporations that receive huge amounts of money constantly. The strongest one being Disney, a company that owns huge amounts of theme parks across the world and has millions of citizens across the world watching their productions and films. Their constant influx of money allowed them to sustain a long term battle and put economic pressure on the strikers. While union strikes are permitted and protected under federal law, union workers still need financial capabilities to properly maintain the strike afloat.
Sources:
Comments