How Successful Are Worker Strikes?

This past Friday, the union that advocates for school support staff, Service Employees International Local 99, reached a tentative deal with district representatives. Next is the vote.

The union and the district agreed to a 30% wage increase for support staff, a new average salary of $33,000 (up from $25,000) and health care benefits for part-time employees, among other demands. SEIU 99 union members will be able to vote on the agreement in-person and online starting next week. The voting results will be announced on Saturday, April 8.

The effectiveness of strikes

While we wait to see what happens, How To LA podcast host Brian De Los Santos digs into the effectiveness of strikes and how the power of the picket line has changed over time. Massive worker stoppages became a powerful tool during the Industrial Revolution, as workers fought for better wages, hours and conditions during a time of transformational technological advances. Strikes were commonplace throughout the early 20th century. But the labor movement was hampered in 1981 when former President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 air traffic controller workers who went on strike to protest low wages and long work hours. Restrictive laws were put into place, creating a new fear in workers when it came to protesting. NPR reported that it was a “serious blow to the American labor movement."

Soon after, workers faced harsh repercussions if they walked off of the job. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 222 recorded work stoppages in 1960. By 1980, there were 187. In 2010, there were just 11.

But due in part to the challenging working conditions during the pandemic, there’s been an uptick in strikes — think about workers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2022 or the academic workers at the University of California. And there’s also been a lot more movement to unionize across different sectors, from Amazon warehouse workers to performers at Medieval Times. A Hollywood writers’ strike is on the horizon.

“We're at a moment right now of the highest level of public support for unions in 60 years,” said Diana Reddy, a doctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies the labor movement.

But there’s still risk involved.

“Striking is incredibly hard,” Reedy said. “It's terrifying. Labor law is weak and it's a lot of work. I don't know if you've ever tried to organize thousands and thousands of people to stop doing what they do daily, to risk their livelihoods to go without pay, to cause this kind of disruption. It's not something that unions do lightly.”

Listen to the rest of Brian’s conversation here.

As always, stay happy and healthy, folks. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

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Wait! One More Thing...

The East West Bank's CEO Dominic Ng battles allegations from the right

Dominic Ng, CEO of East West Bank, one of the country's largest which was founded in Los Angeles to serve Chinese Americans.

(Samanta Helou Hernandez

/

LAist)

In my colleague Josie Huang’s latest story, she explores the rise of East West Bank CEO Dominic Ng, from leading one of the most notable banks in the U.S. to national politics.

After staying out of politics for most of his life, Ng decided a few years ago to generously support President Joe Biden’s bid for the highest seat in the nation. In turn, he was asked to help bridge the relationship between the U.S. and Asia as an advisor to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. But ever since then, he’s been getting some attacks from conservative groups who doubt his loyalty to the country.

Read more about Ng’s story here.