WEBVTT - How Labor Strikes Work 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:03.680 Tour, tour, tour, tour, live shows, live shows. That that 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:08.160 that a tour. It's baseball season. Yeah, that's right, it is. 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:13.600 That means we're going on tour, right, Uh, Josh, Seattle 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:15.680 and Portland are sold out. I know we'll see you 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:19.560 guys there. Denver, Colorado, you are very close to selling out. 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:23.639 Uh yeah, Colorado. Denver is like right there, right, And 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:28.000 then in houston's doing okay, it's respectable, but it's definitely 0:00:28.600 --> 0:00:30.760 Denver was like, give us a ticket. Yeah. And I 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:33.080 gotta say, Houston, we really stuck our neck out for you. 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:35.440 After Dallas and Austin. We heard from a lot of 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:39.040 Houston nights about how big your city is, so prove it. 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.479 Oh what they called throwing on the gauntlet. Uh. And 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:44.680 we have two more shows to announce, Is that correct, sir? 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:48.000 That's right. We are doing Night one and Night to 0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:51.360 at the Bell House in New York City. That's right 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:54.320 in Brooklyn, New York. Bellhouse has been our home there 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.960 for many years. And coming back home. Yeah, these are 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:01.320 very special shows because they're smaller, smaller than places we've 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:04.320 been playing, and we love it there and I think 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:08.039 it's it seems gonna be pretty great. Yeah, so that's June. 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:12.520 Tickets go on sale Friday Friday, that is correct, and 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:15.720 we will have links at our square space website s 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:18.920 y s K live dot com. Make sure you buy 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:21.280 tickets to the correct night that you want to go. 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:24.400 Oh yeah, and it's gonna be the same show both nights, right, 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:26.959 be the same show both nights. And now all I 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:31.960 need our tickets from Lynn Manuel Miranda to go see 0:01:32.000 --> 0:01:34.600 Hamilton's on Broadway. Oh yeah, sure, sign me up for 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:37.040 those as well. Pleased. It's pretty tough ticket to get. 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:39.640 So if you're a listener, sir, you can come to 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:42.720 our show. Yeah, oh yeah, totally, even though it conflicts 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:48.680 with the Hamilton's performance. Yeah, that's what I so like, 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:50.400 we said, s y s K live dot com powered 0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:53.800 by squarespace, where you can find all the tour deeds. Yeah, 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:57.840 we'll see you soon, Brooklyn. Welcome to stuff you should 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:06.800 know from House to Works dot com. Hey, and welcome 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:10.639 to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W. Chuff Bryant, 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:15.480 and there's Jerry over there I can hear, and this 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:21.480 is Deis. We're working and that means we're not on strike, 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:27.160 that's right, strike, strike, Strike. Remember the flint Stones Betty 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.440 Walma used to wander around shouting strike Why because they 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:34.600 were tired of being no recollection of that. I just 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:36.960 remember seeing them like pumping their hands in the air 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:44.400 shouting strike. Interesting. So, uh, as a little background if 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:47.600 you want to go listen first to our show from 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:51.160 how labor unions work. Good one might be a good 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.640 little precursor to this because they are tied together like 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:58.800 ham and cheese. Yeah, because you really can't have a 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:02.040 strike without a union, and you can, you can, but 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:05.639 you're probably in trouble if you do. For the most part. 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:09.720 I mean, technically, we could all that how stuff works, 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:14.040 decided to go on strike and we're not in an union. Yeah, 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:16.720 Like we could all walk out and say we want 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:21.399 free lunch or we're not podcasting anymore. Free lunch would 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:24.679 be great. So technically you could do it, but I 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.519 don't know about the legalities of stuff like that. Um, 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:30.200 well that's the thing, okay, So we could do it, 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.880 You're absolutely right, but we wouldn't be afforded the same 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:41.280 legal protections that strikers who are striking under a labor 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:44.840 union are. That's what that's what's our boss would probably say, 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:46.800 let me see if we can work out free lunch. 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:52.680 Would be like heyn, we burned a strike on that. Um. 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:54.400 It would be a problem if we burned a strike 0:03:54.440 --> 0:04:00.520 on that because strikes are the they're the last um. 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:04.800 They're basically the last resort of any labor union. Yeah, 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:07.520 labor union doesn't say, uh, you know, I wish we 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:10.800 were paid more, let's go on strike tomorrow. Yeah, I know, 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:12.280 it doesn't happen like now. You try to work it 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:16.640 out with your employer. First sit down at the negotiating table. Uh. Well, 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:20.160 we're jumping ahead here. Okay, let's get to some history. 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:23.320 You want to talk about this, the history of strikes. Yeah, 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:27.000 not a lot is known about the very first strike. Um, 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:28.599 but they do know that the word was used in 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.120 the seventeen hundreds. And it probably means because I kind 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:33.680 of wondered what does that mean, it probably means came 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:36.080 from like to strike a blow, Yeah, like a punch 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:40.599 in the mouth from strike someone from labor to capital. 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:43.640 That's right, just saying hey man, you can't push this around. 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:46.159 And it was a it's a it's a really important 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.120 right to be able the striker. It was for a 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:52.720 very long time, because back in the day, if you 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:57.680 UM worked in a town in Massachusetts or something like 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:02.120 that in the late eighteenth century, there's probably one company 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.320 in that town, and so therefore that company had what's 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:09.480 called the monopsony, meaning that they were the only employer around. 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:13.360 So they had a they could decide what they paid 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:15.800 you and what were you gonna do. You can't take 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:19.880 a horse fifty miles to work every day to the 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:25.720 next town. So UM the to counteract this monopsony of 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:30.760 the employer the ability for the workers to get together 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:34.480 and say, hey, we are going to not work and 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:36.520 you will not have the product that we make for 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:40.360 you unless we come to some agreement over these labor 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:43.800 conditions and wages and all sorts of stuff. Yeah, that's 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:45.640 who they came from. One of one of the first 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:51.680 strikes was in when some printers in Philadelphia said, you 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:55.279 know what, we want to raise in The company said nope, no, 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:58.600 thank you, We'll pay you just like you're paid. He said, 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:00.679 all right, well you know what, we're not going to anything. 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:04.560 And it worked. They quit working and they ended up 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:07.720 getting their rays right. The owner was like, I haven't 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:12.240 expected this outcome. How dare you so? Because it worked. 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:16.960 Over the next few decades, other people said the same thing. 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:19.679 If we're all in the same profession, let's some band 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:22.839 together and say we want to be treated more fairly. 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:25.480 We're making this company a ton of money. They're paying 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:29.120 a squat. It's not safe, we're working too long. Oh yeah, 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:31.880 little kids are working here. Yeah, child labor is going on. 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:35.760 So this is we're powerless as an individual to walk 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:38.559 in and say, you know, I want more paid, because 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:40.880 they will say you're fired. But if we band together, 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:44.200 we actually have some bargaining power, exactly. And that's what 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:48.480 that's what a union is. It's an assemblage of workers 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:51.400 who share some sort of commonality. Either they work for 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:54.320 the same company. Usually they work in the same trade. 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:59.599 So like electrical workers in a company plant, well, all 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:02.839 the wong to one union, and the upholsterers will belong 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:05.080 to another union, and so on and so forth. Right, 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:07.560 so you have a bunch of different unions and in 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:10.880 the same plant for working for the same company. Um. 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:13.920 But so usually the thing that binds workers in a 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.240 union is their trade, right, Um. And when they get 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:20.640 together and they say no more, we're not working anymore. 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:24.080 Until you guys do something that is power and that's 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:26.800 the strike. But again they're supposed to be bargaining that 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:30.440 comes before this. Yeah, strikes are a bit of a 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.720 double edged sword. Uh, your company is going to very 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:37.400 quickly cease to make money because things aren't being produced 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:40.280 a lot of money, which is a big deal. But you, 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:43.960 as strikers are also not making money. Um. You might 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:46.080 have what's called a war chest built up when your 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:48.640 union has set aside money in case of a strike, 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:52.320 but it's not gonna carry you through a prolonged strike 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:55.560 and it's not gonna be your regular paycheck. So a 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:58.640 war chest is not going to solve your problem ultimately 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.520 if if it becomes a battle of wills, both sides 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:04.120 are dug in for months and even years. And apparently 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:07.560 so Europe's very well known for strikes. UM, Like, it 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.360 seems like France was striking like every couple of weeks 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:13.200 for a while. They're right, Um, but it turns out 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:18.880 that the US has struck gone on strike how about that? Um, 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:23.400 about as often as Europe has from something like I 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:28.120 think the eighteen eighties till the nineteen seventies, and um 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:31.800 has actually had bloodier strikes and longer strikes, so that 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:35.440 the mean number of days of strike lasts in the 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:38.640 United States or did between eighteen eighty one and nineteen 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.760 seventy four, was twenty days. So yeah, if you're like 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:46.240 a wage laborer, that's three weeks paid that you're losing 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:48.480 out on. That's the meat. You know. It could go 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:51.600 longer than that. Yeah, and that's exactly what is going 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:55.040 on in the in the boardroom for the company is there. 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:57.720 You know, how long can we wait them out? How 0:08:57.720 --> 0:08:59.719 long can they wait us out? There's a game of 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:02.080 chess sent a lot of ways. Uh. And like you said, 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:05.040 it is a last resort. A union can't just call 0:09:05.080 --> 0:09:08.760 a strike. Um, a union leader or the upper management 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:10.439 of the union can't just say we're going on strike. 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:12.480 You gotta put it to a vote. And it's not 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:17.760 like like generally it's eight or up. Uh. People have 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:19.360 to be behind it, and which is what you want, 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.880 because if your your labor pool isn't strong and your 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:26.600 union isn't strong, then you're gonna lose. Exactly, They're gonna 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:28.640 start crossing that picket line. We'll get to all that, 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:32.360 of course, but but even beyond that, the union leadership 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:35.720 has to be smart enough to say, guys like, we 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:38.640 know that eight percent of you are voting fists and 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:42.480 that's the gender neutral guys. Stop your email now. Um, 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:46.320 but this is a terrible time to go on strike, Like, 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:50.439 we don't have public sympathy. Um, you have big time. 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:54.600 The economics are against us. The brand recognition and brand 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:57.560 loyalty of the company we work for is through the roof. 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:01.599 It's a terrible time to strike. So if that happens 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:06.280 and the workers are disaffected enough, um, they might they 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:08.839 may say no, we're going on strike anyway without the 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:12.040 blessing of the union. That's what's called a wildcat strike. Yes. 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:16.520 And also I think the name of a Blackfoot album? 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:21.680 Who's Blackfoot? What are they newish? Are they from the 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:26.160 seventies eighties? They were one? They were a Southern rock band. 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:32.160 Uh oh Atlanta Rhythm Section. No, I used to love 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:35.679 them too, black Yeah, they were I think like either 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:38.439 two thirds or three quarters of the band were Native 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:42.480 American and so they were Blackfoot. And the lead singer 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:47.280 was in a very early incarnation of Leonard SKINNERD and 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:52.760 is now with Leonard Skinnerd again. I see Rickey Medlock Wow. Yeah, 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:54.920 I've never heard of Blackfoot. Yeah, I'm sorry for that. 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:57.280 Blackfoot guys they were they were a hard rock southern 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:01.360 rock band. It sounds like something i'd like. Yeah, go 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:08.720 listen to the Blackfoot. So on good morning, Okay, good morning. Uh. 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:10.960 If you want to not strike, one of the first 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:12.640 things you might do if you have a disagreement as 0:11:12.640 --> 0:11:15.560 file a grievance. Uh. And like I said, when it 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:17.640 comes time to sit down, hopefully you can both work 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:19.760 things out at the old bargaining table. Well, and the 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:22.480 bargaining table. This is like, this is a very important point. 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:28.880 Strikes occur almost across the board during contract negotiations. They 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:32.720 don't happen during contracts or else you're in a major violation, 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:37.120 usually of the contract itself. This is our contracts coming up, 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:42.439 and we've been thinking, we really don't want mandatory tonsillectomies. 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:46.120 We want that remove from this past contract. And the 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:50.440 employer says, no tons electomies for everybody, and then you 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:52.880 you have a problem. There's a there's an issue right here, 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:56.440 it's at the bargaining table. It's contract related, and it 0:11:56.600 --> 0:12:00.439 can conceivably lead to a strike. So there's differ kinds 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:04.600 of strikes. Um, there are a few that proceede the 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:08.600 full on no one's coming to work strike. Uh, kind 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.080 of like a warning shot strike, as you can have 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:14.720 a sick out or sick in, and that is when 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:19.320 you're just sort of saying, here's what could happen. Company owner, 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:22.439 factory owner, we're all calling in sick today, and this 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:25.079 is what it's gonna be like. Imagine this for days 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:27.880 and days in a row. Yeah, you'd hate it, factory owner. 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:31.319 But we're all not feeling well. Yeah, And there's actually 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:35.360 some professions that legally give up the right to strike 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:40.320 but could still conceivably do this. So, like cops sometimes 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:43.640 come down with what's called blue flu, which is a 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:48.160 structured sick out among cops, and it's still following the 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.520 letter because each cop is saying, I'm taking a sick day, 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.440 which I am legally afforded, but all of them are 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:57.160 taking it at the same time. So it's a problem. Yeah, 0:12:57.160 --> 0:12:59.280 a lot of times, like, uh, if it's a public 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:02.120 service that people really count on, fireman cops, Yeah, they 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:04.960 can't take they can't go on strike, but they can't 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:07.480 stick out. We can't strike, but we can stick out 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:10.400 or we generally is what we've done is in our contract, 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:15.000 we've agreed to arbitration as a means to settle disputes. Right, 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:19.760 but we can just yeah, blue flu um. There's also 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:23.240 a slowdown too, which I mean, this is the most 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:26.280 passive aggressive any think it really is. It's like, oh, 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:29.920 let me make sure that that bolt is on again? 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:34.079 Where was that bolt? Where was that rich? Where did 0:13:34.080 --> 0:13:37.959 I put that? Right? It's where um everybody goes to work. 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:42.000 But they do their work very slowly, and again they're 0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:45.480 able to get away with this because they're following the rules. 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:48.680 So if you look at the rule book or handbook 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:52.880 of an employee at say any kind of manufacturing plant, 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:57.559 their job is probably on paper way more detailed and 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:01.200 structured than the actual job they harry out. Is just 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:05.360 a practical matter. Right. If they started to do their 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:09.040 job strictly by the book, the amount of time it 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:12.520 takes them to make a widget would slow down dramatically 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:15.120 is compared to win. They cut the corners that they 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:18.000 normally cut, and the company is like, yeah, cut those 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:20.680 corners because we want to get more widgets out the door. 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:22.640 So is that what they're doing during a slowdown is 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:25.760 they're technically following everything to the letter. That's what the 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:28.640 Grabster says. This is a Grabster joint. Joint, by the way, 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:32.640 that's right, the great Grabanowski. Yeah, the Grabsters suggests that 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:35.480 that is the case for a slowdown usually, although you 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:37.880 could also just do your job slower. But if you're 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:40.400 doing it by the book, when your boss comes on's 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:43.840 like what you better speed up? Hey, I'm making sure 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:48.000 that we're following all the safety precautions. Uh. And then 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:50.200 finally you can have a sit down. Well, there's a 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:53.680 couple more you can have a sit down strike. That is, um, 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:55.600 that may be the most aggressive. That's when you actually 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:59.160 to go to work and you don't work and you 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:01.960 don't leave right Like, you have people bring you food 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:04.960 and water, and you're like, I'm gonna sit on my 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:07.560 stool so no one else can sit on it and 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:13.200 do that job. You're still not your stool. A good point. Yeah, 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:16.120 I think that's the most aggressive. I have hardest core 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:19.240 and then an arrow pointing out sit down strike here 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:23.040 on my notes right. Uh. And but it also doesn't 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:27.000 just um, it's not just the most aggressive. It actually 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:31.640 affords some additional protections to the the worker on strike, right, 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.440 so one nobody else can come in and do that 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:37.640 work because they're in the way, are on the stool, 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:42.200 um number two. It prevents them from violence in a 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:45.960 lot of ways, or it protects them from violence because 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:49.720 they're hanging around very expensive company machinery. It would be 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:51.560 pretty stupid to come at somebody like that with a 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:53.960 lead pipe because if they duck, you just broke the 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:57.000 company's machine. And if that sounds crazy, will we will 0:15:57.040 --> 0:16:01.720 go in over the myriad examples of violence and strikes 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:04.520 and strike busters just disgusting. Yeah. So if you think, 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:06.920 what do you mean, no one would come after them violently, Yeah, 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:11.840 it happens. Listen, Pollyanna, just the wait wake up. Uh. 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:16.360 So it also keeps the person away from the elements, 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:20.680 like you're not out picketing in the rainy weather of Flint, Michigan, right, 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:24.960 You're just sitting there and in the nice plant. That's right. 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.200 There can be sympathy strikes. That's when you um. That's 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:33.720 when you either directly or just um, they decide to 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:38.280 call on your brothers and sisters and other unions maybe 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:42.200 in the same industry that feel your pain and they 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.800 know it's good for them ultimately as well, so they 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:47.600 will also go on strike to kind of help your cause, 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:51.800 right exactly. And um, some some company may call the 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.480 other company be like, dude, you're they're killing me over here. 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:58.000 Give them those concessions please, or else I'm not going 0:16:58.040 --> 0:16:59.680 to be able to make dues this month at the 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:06.120 billy An Airs Club. Buffy will kill me or um. 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:10.320 It might also be sympathy strikes in a Remember I said, 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:12.399 in the same plant, you might have an upholsters union, 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:16.760 an electricians union, a plumbers union, um at the same company. 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:21.520 Other non affiliated unions may go on strike as well, 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.560 and that will really put some pressure on that company 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:26.479 because they can be like, well, well, we'll catch up 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:30.720 with our backlog of um of upholstery work while these 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:34.200 guys are striking right. Nope, sorry, we're on strike. Two 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:39.120 The company or is just like, oh my god. Well, 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:42.640 and we're gonna get into the very infamous nineteen eighties 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.920 air traffic controller strike in great detail later. But one 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:48.520 of the big reasons, uh it didn't work out is 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:51.399 because they failed to get anyone else on board, like 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:54.840 the pilots and the flight attendants and baggage chandelers. None 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:57.639 of them, uh jumped on board with a sympathy strike, 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:00.880 which did not help the air traffic controller. Then you've 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:04.560 got a general strike, which is not usually directed at 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:08.600 a company itself. UM, It's more directed at like a 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:12.919 government because that means basically everybody who works in a 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:17.200 country goes on strike, like we want minimum wage rays 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:19.600 for everybody. And that's one reason why it seems like 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:22.480 France is always striking. It's because when they go on strike, 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:25.880 they go on strike. They typically have general strikes. When 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:28.160 they do, I don't want to say typically, but they 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:32.959 do undertake general strikes, which is basically unheard of here 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:37.160 in the United States. UM, and it makes big news 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:41.000 when it happens for UM. So there's just some time 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:43.160 that types of strikes. Yeah, should we take a break, 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:45.320 Let's all right, but we're coming back. We're not going 0:18:45.320 --> 0:19:10.080 on strike. Don't worry, so chuck. UM. We talked about 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:13.879 different kinds of strikes. Right. One of the things that 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:17.120 you think of when you, uh, when you go on strike, 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.960 or when you think of strike is people picketing, like 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:25.919 you'll very frequently see UM people around Atlanta especially. It 0:19:25.920 --> 0:19:31.480 seems like a lot of construction companies have aggrieved employees. Yeah, um, 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:34.439 and so the people just be like marching out in 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:38.080 front of the uh the like a building that's going up, 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:40.760 headquarters maybe, or a construction site, and they'll say like, 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:44.720 shame on whoever for employing non union workers or whatever. 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:48.399 Because that's a big, big part of the UM the 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:51.359 ability to go on strike is you need to have 0:19:51.440 --> 0:19:55.200 a solid union, right and one way, especially early on 0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:59.560 back in the seventeen or no eighteenth and early nineteenth 0:19:59.560 --> 0:20:02.760 century we're talking about in New England. UM, there was 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:07.120 this idea that if you were not a part of 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:09.800 the union, the union members would be like, I'm not 0:20:09.920 --> 0:20:12.760 working if that person is working here, like you have 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:15.520 to fire that person. So if you didn't join a union, 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:18.240 you had a hard time finding jobs. And so if 0:20:18.280 --> 0:20:20.760 you're a union, one of your big tactics is you 0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:25.160 need to make sure your membership is almost complete across 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:27.360 the company or else you're not going to be able 0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:29.919 to put real pressure on that company if half the 0:20:29.920 --> 0:20:32.520 workers can still show up to work because they're not 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:35.400 union members, so they are not going on strike. Good point. 0:20:36.160 --> 0:20:38.280 Picketing is one of the main reasons you picket is 0:20:38.320 --> 0:20:41.280 to draw. Like we mentioned earlier, get the public on 0:20:41.320 --> 0:20:43.760 your side. It's a big part of it. And and 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:47.400 also to embarrass the company. Yeah, and this probably says 0:20:47.440 --> 0:20:49.560 a lot about who I am. But whenever I see that, 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:53.440 I always think in my head, well, there's some employees 0:20:53.440 --> 0:20:56.040 that are clearly getting screwed by the man. What do 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:58.600 they have to say? Which is exactly what they want? 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:00.240 That's why they're out there with the picket signs or 0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:04.520 sometimes they're chanting something or singing a song. Uh, and 0:21:05.760 --> 0:21:09.200 what they do they sing songs like you know, songs 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:11.639 about the picket they're not they're singing Stairway to Heaven 0:21:12.280 --> 0:21:17.200 or like the Freddy Krueger nursery rhyme? What's that one? Yeah, 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:22.840 they should do that picket line. Ever, when two strikers 0:21:22.880 --> 0:21:27.399 coming for you, uh, if you cross the picket line, 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:30.439 you literally have to. That's why they stand out in 0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:33.199 front of the factory or the HQ. You have to 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:36.960 walk through them and literally crossed the picket line. To 0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:40.320 be what's known as a scab. And you can be 0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:42.520 a you can be part of that union and decided 0:21:42.520 --> 0:21:44.879 to go back to work, or you can be just 0:21:44.920 --> 0:21:48.000 an outside person who says I actually need work. And 0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:50.280 I'm not in your union. I'm so, I'm just gonna 0:21:50.800 --> 0:21:54.280 I don't know you guys, sorry, ladies, pardon me. I'm 0:21:54.280 --> 0:21:58.640 a scab. Or you might be a professional from another 0:21:58.680 --> 0:22:02.160 part of the country that the owner basically has shipped 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:05.080 in to replace you, which we'll get into all the 0:22:05.200 --> 0:22:08.879 legalities of that later. But crossing a picket line is 0:22:08.920 --> 0:22:13.360 not a shining moment for anybody who's doing it. No, um, 0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:16.359 And where does the word scab come from? My friend? 0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:19.360 Apparently it has to do with, um, how people used 0:22:19.400 --> 0:22:24.399 to shun people with infectious diseases. The The sentiment was 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:26.560 that if you crossed the picket line, you would be 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:28.960 treated in the exact same way as if you had 0:22:29.000 --> 0:22:31.560 the plague. Everybody's gonna keep you over there, no one's 0:22:31.560 --> 0:22:33.040 gonna talk to You're not gonna be able to find 0:22:33.040 --> 0:22:36.040 a job, You're going to be cast out of society. 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:41.240 You're you're yes, so you're it was shortened to scab, 0:22:42.440 --> 0:22:44.760 Which is I mean like that that amount of pressure 0:22:44.840 --> 0:22:49.480 is tremendous. Yeah, And um, picketing doesn't always mean you're 0:22:49.520 --> 0:22:51.800 on strike. A lot of times it's another warning shot. 0:22:51.880 --> 0:22:56.880 It's called informational picketing. When you sort of threatened and say, hey, 0:22:57.119 --> 0:22:59.440 you know we're out here picketing. You know, this does 0:22:59.520 --> 0:23:02.720 not look for you know, And that's that's the key thing. 0:23:02.760 --> 0:23:05.200 Like if you go on strike, you want the public 0:23:05.240 --> 0:23:08.080 to know you're on strike, because the public is like, 0:23:08.119 --> 0:23:10.359 why you're on strike? What's the problem? I want to 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:14.959 know about that? UM. And it's gotten some some groups 0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:19.679 have gotten a lot better at UM at manipulating the media, 0:23:20.280 --> 0:23:23.520 using social media to get the message across, like the 0:23:24.640 --> 0:23:28.560 Fight for fifteen where they they're trying to raise the 0:23:28.560 --> 0:23:31.960 minimum wage fifteen dollars. They've been putting a tremendous amount 0:23:31.960 --> 0:23:35.399 of pressure on McDonald's. They've got a study released that 0:23:35.560 --> 0:23:39.760 found that UM like just a ridiculous percentage of fast 0:23:39.800 --> 0:23:43.119