Be a man, stand together, there is strength in numbers, build a wall because they don't think we are going to do anything. Well this 👆 is how it's done. If they show up? They won't be expecting this kind of reaction. If they make a move like a monkey give em a gorilla ass whoop'n. 🤔
Here’s the thing: the mail strikes are going to inconvenience me this year (have already done so - I get my meds via post), but I can mitigate against that. The nursing strikes, thank goodness, did not affect me directly, but I can see how they might if the future ones are necessary. Rail strikes are less of a thing for me currently as I’m not risking exposing my knackered immune system to public transport. That’s not the point.
All these events are inconveniencing people, making some parts of their lives harder, but if you’re not thinking about how workers choosing to protest in the only way left available to them - by withdrawing their labour, and crucially, not getting paid - and how vital these services are just by how they impact you, I don’t know what to tell you.
Everyone. EVERYONE needs to have the means at their disposal to live well, cover their basic needs of food and water, shelter, warmth, stability, security, family. EVERYONE. I’m not talking about deserving, I’m talking about needing. Every person on this planet needs the access to sustainable, secure living. And yes, I include in that criminals and drug users and people who don’t want to work. Everyone has the right to survival. The people on strike don’t have that. Their pay and conditions are so bad that people are leaving their organisations in droves, and those left are not being supported (not least because it’s proving difficult to replace the colleagues they’ve lost). They’re struggling to feed and safely house themselves and their families. This CANNOT be happening in the 21st Century, where we have more obscenely wealthy people than ever.
Union members think long and very hard before striking; it’s a huge matter for debate and negotiation, and is voted on by everyone in the union before the action is taken. Striking is a last resort, which should tell you a LOT.
So if you’re feeling angry or inconvenienced about it, do not blame the strikers - they are making an incredibly courageous move, and it’s the fault of the people failing to give them the means for survival (crucially - people who are incredibly wealthy and secure) that your post and your non-urgent medical appointments are being delayed, and you’re having to find other ways to get to work and school, etc. It’s on those failing to negotiate meaningfully, the greedy people putting profit above the safety and security of people like you. Don’t be fooled by media manipulation - those on strike have far more in common with you than you have with those telling you that the strikers are wrong. Never forget that. And never forget the importance of collective bargaining and the fact that rich people need you, and that you have more power than you realise.
After seeing the worst of humanity, full of selfishness, lies and cruelty I found some pocket of kindness, joy and laughter here and at the end of the day I have not only solidified existing friendships, I have picked up a few new ones.
They were nothing more than people, by themselves. Even paired, any pairing, they would have been nothing more than people by themselves. But all together, they have become the heart and muscles and mind of something perilous and new, something strange and growing and great.
Together, all together, they are the instruments of change.