There have been over 800 strikes since the COVID-19 crisis began, according to Payday Report, with many especially since the murder of George Floyd.  Regardless of the exact number, it is clear that something new is developing among workers.

There’s a lot of variation in these actions.  Some have been protests, like those at Amazon, over the death of workers and lack of PPE.  Some, like the strikes in the apple sheds in Washington, have been demands for safe work and compensation.  Some have been protests over racism and in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

These strikes don’t compare in size or number with the outpouring of rage over the murders by police, which have been enormous and ongoing.  But they are very significant for a number of reasons.

They are class-based protests by workers, over the underlying conditions that have brought people into the streets in general.  Overwhelmingly they have been organized by workers themselves, indicating both a deep level of anger over the conditions, and an understanding that striking is an effective form of protest and a means to change them.

In most cases unions have been slow to respond and overly cautious about action at the workplace.  There are important exceptions to this, however.  Familias Unidas por la Justicia, the new farmworkers’ union in Washington, immediately sent organizers to support apple shed workers who struck against the virus.  The achievements of those strikes was the result, not just of spontaneous action, but of FUJ’s ability to organize support for them.

The longshore union organized a one-day strike and mass demonstration on Juneteenth, using the day celebrating the official end of slavery to mobilize support for dismantling police departments.  Other unions locally and elsewhere have organized labor marches supporting Black Lives Matter as well.  Bus drivers in Minneapolis refused to drive busses to transport police to demonstrations, or people arrested in the protests.

These strikes and actions show an intersection between the impact of the coronavirus and the protests over the murder of George Floyd.  The actions against the virus and its impact, and against police murders, are clearly responses to a deeper social and economic crisis.

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