#striking
I’m not opposed to the Etsy strike but I think people have forgotten that a true strike doesn’t end until some sort of resolution has been made. The Kellogg’s strike, for example, didn’t have an announced end date. The workers were on strike indefinitely until certain conditions were met.
I worry that giving such a clear, hard end date to the Etsy strike is probably just sending the message to Etsy that their profits will dip for a week and then go right back to normal.
I get that a lot of people can’t afford to close their shops for even a week, but as a union member with the IWW, I really think the first step really should be to organize under a freelance artists’ union so there can be shit like a strike fund, clear communication, and clear demands coming from a centralized force.
IDK, I’m not the most educated person in the world, so maybe I’m off-base, but from where I’m standing, the constant calls for a “general strike” that are really just a planned protest,not a true strike, feel like they’re kind of kneecapping actual strike efforts at times.
I was catching up on my TikTok feed this morning and came across a video talking about the strike organizers “coming up with ways to support people during the strike.”
That’s…not something you should be figuring out afteryou call for a strike. That’s like the first thing you figure out, before you even thinkabout calling for a strike.
This isn’t a strike, it’s a scheduled boycott.
#that’s true but a scheduled boycott can still be a labor tactic
Oh, absolutely, that’s why I said in the OP that I’m not againstthe Etsy strike, even if I have my criticisms. I’m not going to tell people not to do it or that it’s completely futile. I genuinely hope it catches Etsy’s attention.
My issue is mostly that I think there’s been a muddying of the waters about what strikes are, how they work, and how they’re organized. It’s why you see calls across social media every six months for a “general strike” that has no actual core organization, no strike fund, no clear demands, and absolutely no information about how to access support while striking. It’s extremely wishful thinking that puts several carts before the horse.
Strikes can be a powerful and important tool for workers’ rights, but calling every action a “strike” or trying to go right to striking without the right foundation feels like an issue that should be talked about, imo.