You may have seen that item on television the other day about the world’s largest strike, ever.
No, me neither. Pardon the leaden irony.
The event happened – there’s no doubt about that – but it didn’t warrant mainstream coverage. 100 million workers were passed over for a Gainesville preacher who had threatened to burn a Koran.
In a country where full-time jobs are a rare exception, India’s workers came together on September 7th across cultural, sectoral, religious, traditional and political divides. Their union federations displayed a unity that has never been seen before. Compared to this, France in May 1968 (with 11 million workers on strike) was a right old fizzer.
Speaking of France, you’ll have heard about the millions that have been involved in a wave of strikes and protests there. Much better media coverage. At the same time, however, China is experiencing its largest-ever wave of industrial action. For all kinds of reasons, we just aren’t hearing about it.
Spain just had its largest ever strike too, involving 10 million workers (about 70% of the workforce). So did Portugal. In fact a surprising number of countries have experienced their largest-ever strikes in the past few years. The list includes the USA, UK, China, South Africa, Greece, Nigeria, Tunisia, Spain, Egypt, Colombia, Libya, Turkey, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Portugal, Nepal and Cambodia. This sent members of the network into research mode. By our reckoning, it seems that two thirds of the largest strikes in history have occurred in the last 10 years. See the table below for our latest data.
Could it be that our mainstream media — and our own union media — is missing something?
The world’s largest strikes* | |||||||||
|
We are not just talking about union members when we cite these numbers. By far the majority of those on strike in many of these countries are not members, or, in some cases, are striking irrespective of their official unions. (eg: India, France, Spain in the first instance; and China, Egypt and Cambodia in the second).
A word of caution!
Strike numbers are almost always hotly disputed. Typically, estimates vary by a factor of three or more. Nor does the truth become clearer over time. In fact, sometimes it is not even a case of conflicting data, so much as no real data at all.
Fort his reason, the table to the right is based on a range of approximations. It could not be otherwise. Wherever possible we have used recognised authorities or established news sources. However, in three of the cases cited, the figures represent little more than educated guesswork.
For this reason and others, one should avoid making any kind of comparison across strikes! A strike in feudal Russia in 1905 cannot be meaningfully compared with a MayDay walk off by immigrant workers and their supporters in the USA in 2006. In fact, some have tried to argue that the latter — “a boycott of work and stores” — was not even a strike. Other cases mentioned at right might be described as a concurrent series of separate actions which were collectively dubbed a “strike”.
Furthermore, a cynic might argue that any increase in industrial action is only to be expected. After all, the world’s working class is now much bigger than it ever was. Firstly, it grew as countries industrialized, employing more women and own-account workers in production than ever before. Then came ‘the great doubling’ as rich countries “offshored” manufacturing into the hands of workers in China, Russia, India, Indonesia and Brazil etc.
So what’s our point?
It is one that we have made before, in looking at union membership numbers since 2000. The dominant narrative of union decline is false. It is an ideological position – a portrait of the world the way some would wish it to be. The facts tell a different story, and so the facts are being ignored or distorted to suit. It’s the same old song with a different beat.
Of course, there is union decline in some countries. There was an artifical situation after WWII which led to phenomenal union growth in some countries. This changed. When it did, the membership numbers in those countries fell away again. This is the distorted angle that the media has built its narrative around.
Since then, labour, distribution and production have been globalising. Economics, itself, has gone global. We need to stop thinking of unionism as a nation-based phenomenon. And we especially need to stop thinking of unionism in terms of what has happened in the US and UK.
The New Unionism Network has gathered comparable data on union membership post-2000 for 81 countries. Between them, these cover by far the majority of the world’s workers. Of these 81 countries, 52 have experienced union growth over the period measured. 23 have experienced union decline, and 6 experienced either stability (plus or minus 1% change), or had no union movement at all. Our homepage (www.newunionism.net) presents this data in more depth.
There is a related point that needs to be made, although it does not reflect well on the labour movement.
Isn’t our acceptance of the dominant narrative tacitly racist, or at least narrowly nationalistic?
WHY is a strike of 100,000,000 in India not news? Why do we hear nothing from China’s unions (official and otherwise)? Is it enough just to blame the mainstream media, when our own union media are not providing an alternative narrative?
As we continue to repeat the mantra of union decline, aren’t we tacitly relegating these workers to some kind of “Other” status? After all, “they” make the goods “we” used to make. Are we effectively saying that “they” — as producers — don’t figure in the same sense that “we” — as producers — used to do? (ie before manufacturing was shipped offshore).
Within the union movement, “us and them” makes little sense anymore. Perhaps it never did. One of the central lessons of the first wave of new unionism, around the beginning of last century, was that skilled and unskilled labour needed to stand together. Unskilled workers rejuvenated the union movement, and rewired it profoundly.
The simple fact is that many of us now live in poor countries. Others of us live closer by, but do not fit into the standard work template.
These arguments are all playing out in practice, as well as theory. Unions are experimenting with new global organizing forms, and different modes of representation. In the meantime, this new wave of industrial action continues to gather steam. In some places, unions have been left to play catch up.
It would be great to have more solid data on the current strike wave. Unfortunately, venerable bodies such as the ILO have long since resiled from any such role (try looking at this, their best shot at global data: http://laborsta.ilo.org/STP/guest).
We will be extending and updating the table above with the help of members of the New Unionism Network and UnionBook. We will also be trying to compile global data on industrial action since 2000. Following this, within 12 months, we will publish a reassessment of the situation. At that point we hope to know for sure whether ‘the return of the strike’ is a bona fide phenomenon or just a statistical blip.
In the meantime, don’t believe everything you think!
by Peter Hall-Jones, October 2010
Notes:
* It should be noted that the All India General Strike of 7th September could have been bigger. 100 million represents a small minority of India’s workers. However (and this is critical) it DOES represent significantly more than the entire unionised section of India’s working class (2.4% ILO, 2005). Union membership numbers are notoriously difficult to obtain in India, but it certainly seems clear that the movement is growing and uniting.
* With regards our ‘return of the strike’ theme, we make no claim regarding the frequency or total strike days lost of these industrial actions. As reference to the ILO data in the link provided will show, recent facts are just not available. Still, this is not a carte blanche for ideologues to continue running their narrative of decline. We will be doing our best to compile comparable data in this area as well.
September 30, 2014 at 4:43 pm
I think that what you posted was actually very reasonable.
But, what about this? suppose you added a little content?
I ain’t saying your information is not solid., but what
if you added a headline that makes people want more?
I mean Stike wave signals global shift | NewUnionism’s Blog is kinda boring.
You should look at Yahoo’s front page and watch how they
write news titles to get viewers to open the
links. You might try adding a video or a picture or two
to grab readers excited about what you’ve written. Just my opinion, it might bring your posts a little bit more interesting.
LikeLike
September 26, 2014 at 8:51 am
I absolutely love your blog and find many of your post’s to be exactly what I’m looking
for. Does one offer guest writers to write content to suit your
needs? I wouldn’t mind creating a post or elaborating on a
number of the subjects you write with regards to here.
Again, awesome weblog!
LikeLike
September 25, 2014 at 3:07 am
Whitewater kayaking is a sport that involves paddling a kayak on a whitewater
river. This type of whitewater kayaking can be a combination of sight
seeing and running down the rapids, or whatever types of challenges the
river may offer. Unless you have strong expertise in boat riding, it may
become too much difficult a situation to face up with.
The sponging village of Tarpon Springs is a bit of paddle, doable.
LikeLike
September 21, 2014 at 3:36 am
Neat blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere?
A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog shine.
Please let me know where you got your design. Thanks a lot
LikeLike
September 19, 2014 at 8:11 am
My brother suggested I would possibly like this blog.
He was entirely right. This post truly made my day.
You can not imagine just how so much time I had spent for this info!
Thank you!
LikeLike
August 28, 2014 at 12:10 pm
I am in fact delighted to read this web site posts which
carries plenty of helpful data, thanks for providing these statistics.
LikeLike
August 25, 2014 at 1:25 pm
Please let mee know if you’re looking for a writer for your blog.
You ave some really great articles andd I think I would bee a good asset.
If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolkutely love to wriye some articles for your
blog in exchange foor a lnk back to mine. Please shoot me an email if interested.
Cheers!
LikeLike
August 22, 2014 at 10:49 pm
It’s really a coool and helpful piece of info.
I amm glad that you simply shared this helpful information with us.
Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
LikeLike
August 18, 2014 at 12:53 am
Hi! I could have sworn I’ve visited this web site before but
after browsing through a few of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be bookmarking it
and checking back often!
LikeLike
August 14, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Heya this iis kind of of off topic buut I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors
or if you have to manually code witrh HTML. I’m starting a blog sooon but have no coding know-how soo I wanted to get advice from someone with
experience. Any help woould be enormously appreciated!
LikeLike
August 6, 2014 at 8:31 pm
Hey there!I’m at work sudfing around your blog from my new apple iphone!
Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forwadd to all your posts!
Keep up the fantastic work!
LikeLike
August 5, 2014 at 6:06 pm
What’s up Dear, arre you truly visiting this site daily, if so afterward
you will absolutely get nice experience.
LikeLike
August 4, 2014 at 5:53 pm
Thankfulness to my father who stated to me oon the topic of this
website, this webpage is really awesome.
LikeLike
August 2, 2014 at 1:22 pm
What’s Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I have foujd It absolutely useful and it has helped me out loads.
I’m hoping to give a contribution & aid other users like its aided
me. Great job.
LikeLike
July 24, 2014 at 3:54 am
Its lke you learn my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote thee
ebook in iit or something. I believe thqt
youu just can doo with some p.c. to drive the message hokme a bit, but instead of that, thhat is wonderful blog.
A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.
LikeLike
July 8, 2014 at 9:18 pm
Hmm it appears like your website ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess
I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying
your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger
but I’m still new tto everything. Do you have any tips for novice blog writers?
I’d really appreciate it.
LikeLike
June 5, 2013 at 8:43 am
[…] Thus, approximately two thirds of the biggest strikes in history took place in the last years, according to an estimate 2010. The hypothesis of a shrinking of the working class thus appears to be highly […]
LikeLike
June 4, 2013 at 8:50 am
[…] worden, wie Silver schon voraussah. Zwei Drittel der größten Streiks der Geschichte fanden einer Schätzung aus dem Jahre 2010 zufolge in den letzten Jahren statt. Die These vom Verschwinden der ArbeiterInnenklasse erweist sich so […]
LikeLike
March 4, 2012 at 12:04 am
[…] swept through China’s manufacturing sector in the last few years. This helpful diagram from the same post gives some indication though of what is going […]
LikeLike
January 7, 2012 at 9:21 am
I linked this article to the Perth Wobblies page. Thanks for shedding light in this area of the class struggle.
LikeLike
January 2, 2012 at 6:51 pm
[…] Strike wave signals global shift […]
LikeLike
December 20, 2010 at 11:15 pm
what about the Spanish Revolution, didn’t the CNT formally represent at least 2mil workers, not to mention all the other folks who also downed their tools to fight fascism. Just seems odd that it wouldn’t make the list.
LikeLike
December 21, 2010 at 3:16 am
Hi starcityred,
Thanks for that. Is there a particular strike within that period you are referring to? If so, can you find us any specific numbers/dates? Would be glad to add this.
LikeLike
December 13, 2010 at 9:05 am
[…] workers – was passed over for a Gainesville preacher who had threatened to burn a Koran. https://newunionism.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/strikes/ Wikileaks: A call to struggle against empire http://links.org.au/node/2025 The moral standards of […]
LikeLike
December 9, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Very interesting and useful. As a Canadian, I note you miss the Day of Protest Against Wage Controls, called on Oct. 14, 1976 across the country by the Canadian Labour Congress and other labour federations in Quebec. An estimated one million workers walked off the job, making the biggest one-day labour action in Canadian history.
LikeLike
December 9, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Thanks Kimball… brilliant. I’ve now added this one too.
LikeLike
December 8, 2010 at 11:29 am
I think you make some very valid political comments about this strike in India.
It would be great if there was reporting about the impact and aftermath of the strike, and if the workers in India know themselves that it was the biggest in history.
I think it is an indictment on the union movement (of which I’m a member) that this strike received so little prominence, or many others as well…..
In solidarity
LikeLike
December 21, 2010 at 3:20 am
Hi. As far as I’m aware we are the only people to make this observation. It’s a bit early to talk of ‘aftermath’, but there is to be another huge strike/march in India early 2011, so we’ll keep readers informed.
LikeLike
November 12, 2010 at 3:11 pm
It´s probably worth mentioning also that the first co-op with extensive success, Rochdale in 1844, cast a new light on the abilities of workers, and the unreasonable and inhumane treatment by bosses. John Curl has written on the US history in Affinities magazine, cited in the P2P Foundation.
P2P: http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/the-new-cooperativism/2010/09/21
I also dug up an article at geo.coop reviewing some factors in several countries from 2006:
http://www.geo.coop/archives/InternationalTrendsinWorkerCoops.htm
Clearly, there are several angles involved, from legislation to nuts and bolts skills in workday activities.
LikeLike
November 12, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Moreover, newunionism, I see great hope in the underlying concerns of workers expressed in the history of strikes worldwide you discuss.
The element in Europe that has lead to European work councils in the 1990s suggests how extending worker ownership represents a powerful opportunity in democratic political systems for a transformation of the systems.
LikeLike
November 12, 2010 at 2:48 pm
The phenomenon of corporate and shareholder executive anti-union practices in the US, and internationally, are along with environmental degradation, essential parts of larger scale problems of their profit maximization and shareholder value maximization ideology. Workers are a cost to almost all executives. That kind of view has serious repercussions, and I have strong interests in going beyond the standard union objectives.
The workers at 200 or so firms in Argentina, highlighted in the Lewis/Klein film The Take, were victims of executive mismanagement among other problems of international high finance. Those firms went bankrupt and left the employees destitute. However, the fact that such outcomes were only the conventional calculation was soon demonstrated as the employees reentered the some 200 firms to assert their rights usually in terms of the company´s debt to them. In some 150 cases, they have succeeded. Marie Trigona and Raul Ziboacha have researched their progress in on-line articles at http://www.americas.irc-online.org , and a book titled Sin Patron has been published.
What I understand we see there is the process by which workers are no longer subordinated to executives and managers, and they promptly awaken to the necessary processes to administer their firms with democratically based processes that require them to develop additional skills in participation. The learning and psychological re-conditioning necessary explain essentially why a certain number did not succeed.
William Greider´s book The Soul of Capitalism discusses a number of dynamics in shareholder activism, and several examples of employee ownership, including Blue Ridge Paper. I´ve found some material on Blue Ridge online, and I think they received some significant training. Certainly, the US National Center for Employee Ownership has been involved in this issue, at least through ESOP processes. I´ve dipped into Rosen et al´s book Equity, which mentions a range of cases I had never heard of, like Publix Supermarkets.
Michael Moore´s Capitalism movie shows some examples of employee owned firms, though without much depth. The video Democracy in the Workplace discusses some examples in California, and at the Arizmendi bakery, for example, the opportunity to participate in democratic practices at work provides an unfamiliar and empowering experience for people of diverse backgrounds, whether from corporate management or marginalized.
While organizing 60 million, or more, Indians at once is unlikely, nevertheless, the ILO´s 2002 resolution promoting co-operatives is reinforced by their co-operative branch and the UN´s declaration of 2012 as the year of co-operatives.
In this way, the chronic irresponsibility of executives is transformed and returns the benefits of education and ownership in modern society to the legitimate often dispossessed beneficiaries, the workers themselves.
LikeLike
November 11, 2010 at 6:50 pm
A slightly different search turned up a figure of 60 million in a Sept. strike by the leader of CITU India.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-07/
one-million-indian-banking-employees-on-strike-
today-union-secretary-says.html
Meanwhile, Fox News ‘ stellar views anticipated the
disruptions. Hard for them to ignore…
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/09/06/india-
strike-likely-affect-bank-operations-tuesday/
India has significant numbers of co-ops already. William Greider has written a pretty good
book on the subject, while the Lewis /Klein film
The Take about ARgentina makes a great
comgibation with Moore’s Capitalism film.
I see ample opportunity for unions to begin bulding
a new democratic and ownership skill set among workers.
LikeLike
November 11, 2010 at 9:02 pm
I’d be interested to hear more of your thoughts on that latter comment?
LikeLike
November 11, 2010 at 6:20 pm
I haven’t been able to find other sites mentioning the 100 million number yet, but did find mention of strikes in India addressing the issue of union recognition by multinationals.
The other issue of percentage membership has interested me, for example to find that some European countries have membership of over 50% of working individuals, I believe it is.
Ultimately, as reflected by the privileges of (some?) of the European Work Councils, the employee ownership initiatives in Latin America, the USW-Mondragon Co-operative Corp. agreement, and the US National Center for Employee Ownership, I support the movement of unions to promote employee ownership.
http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?R193
http://business.rediff.com/column/2010/nov/01/guest-when-companies-fail-to-recognise-trade-unions.htm
LikeLike
November 11, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Hi Mark. Try googling “india million strike” (though results may differ depending where you are based). There are two figures being bandied about: 100 million and 60 million. The former is the one that is quoted more often. Unfortunately I haven’t found any site which actually spells out who provided either number. My best guess is that one is a union figure; the other the employers’. That’s what’s so frustrating about such numbers; we can only wish the ILO would get real in this area. Whichever number is closest, it’s still the biggest strike of all time, and the mainstream coverage has been appalling.
LikeLike
October 22, 2010 at 12:56 am
Sorry, to clarify again:
So India has how many workers? 3.3 BILLION (if 100 Million represent 3% of India’s workers, according to your notes).
Really? It doesn’t add up at all, India has a total population of about 1 BILLION.
LikeLike
October 22, 2010 at 6:17 am
Fair cop: nice to know folks still read footnotes. You’re right, of course, but that’s just the way strike statistics always go. It’s always hard to know who’s got it wrong. Most sources cite the number 100,000,000, although a few put the figure at 60,000,000 (which, by the way, would still be the biggest in history). Do we say the BBC & other news agencies got it wrong, or the ILO? The simplest solution would be to delete the footnote. What I’ll do is reduce the percentage figure, but please note that nothing at all changes in the article’s line of reasoning.
LikeLike
October 22, 2010 at 12:47 am
In your notes, you say “100 million represents 3% of India’s workers.”
So India has now many workers? 10 Billion? India’s population? 1 Billion
LikeLike