Upcoming Events 🗓

Don’t miss tomorrow’s political education panel, Help Wanted: What Does the Labor Shortage Mean for Working People? on Tuesday, Oct 19 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT. We’ll hear from Hadas Thier, activist and author of A People’s Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics, Emilio Enriquez, organizer with the Restaurant Organizing Project, and Rebecca Garelli, teacher and organizer with Arizona Educators United (AEU). Register now!

A round of applause for EWOC’s fundraising campaign! Thanks to our generous supporters and donors, we’ve raised $4,438 in monthly donations and $7,812 in one-time donations. We’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone for chipping in and following along. John S. sent along this very kind note after signing up to be a donor, and we thought we’d share it with you all:

I just signed up to become a monthly sustainer! EWOC is definitely something I deeply support, and I’m committed to helping it continue to grow however I can. The people I’ve met, the experiences I’ve gained and the skills I’ve learned have been life-changing in a lot of ways. I appreciate all that you, Tristan and the amazing teams of volunteers do every day! — John S., EWOC donor

Your donations will help power the continued work of EWOC. Thank you!

World of Work 🌍: Striketober Edition! 🎃

What is it about October that has employers spooked? This Halloween, we’re going dressed as worker solidarity, because there’s nothing scarier to capitalists than that.

All month long, we’ve been seeing workers coming together and using their leverage to demand better, fairer jobs. The 60,000+ entertainment workers of IATSE threatened a historic work stoppage that would have brought Hollywood production to a standstill, and in return they’ve won a new contract. Americans are quitting their jobs at a higher rate than ever before, a trend The Guardian has likened to “an unofficial general strike.” And the power of the official strike is on full display, with collective action from Kaiser Permanente nurses, Kellogg’s and Nabisco workers, Seattle carpenters, Kentucky whiskey-makers, Alabama miners, and many more.

For those of us who are not involved in direct labor action, we can help maintain this momentum by standing in solidarity with those engaged in the fight. Workers are treated as disposable, until the moment when they rise up and show just how essential they really are. EWOC is here to support workers who are demanding real change, this month and every month. So let’s get spooky.

USA – Across industries, workers are rejecting a two-tiered payment system that would allocate lesser wages and benefits to new employees. This issue affects workers at Kellogg’s, Kaiser Permanente, and John Deere, to name a few, and is one of the core grievances fueling recent strike actions.

NY – Are food delivery apps finally getting regulated? The New Yorker explores recent legislation intended to limit predatory fees and require better workplace conditions for drivers, in what appears to be the beginning of a trend.

Image: The General Strike of 1934.

New From Our Blog 🗣

Is going on strike the biggest trend of 2021? EWOC’s Samuel Fleischman discusses the vast array of workplace actions that took place this year, the grievances fueling them, and how we can best leverage workers’ power to effect real change.

Solidarity,

Team EWOC

EWOC is a collaboration between the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). We depend on small-dollar donations to provide frontline workers with the support they need to fight for protections during COVID-19. Click here to make a contribution that will help fund our work.