On Janus v. AFSCME
Despite what gloating capitalists and defeatists progressives may say, the Supreme Court's decision in Janus v. AFSCME is not the end of unions in the US.
Unions were not created by the stroke of a judge's pen nor will they be undone by it. Unions were forged in the flames of class war, against the interests of politicians and their lackeys, by working people who understood that we can only count on each other. Whenever and wherever workers act together to improve their working conditions, unions will prevail. No law can change this.
Capitalists seek to turn back the clock to 1934, to before the National Labor Relations Act gave unions legal protections? So be it. We welcome 1934. 1934 saw the ILA unionize all West Coast ports, Teamsters break into "open shop" Minneapolis, and textile workers from New England to the South launch what was the largest strike in US history. The NLRA was a compromise imposed by the government to prevent all out class war. If we are done compromising, then let us return to fighting.
But we don't need to look so far back for inspiration. In 2018, teachers in West Virginia proved that workers need only act together to succeed. WV teachers already lacked the protections that Janus will strip from other unions. That did not stop them from winning their demands and inspiring workers across the country.
The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in 1905. For over 100 years, we have known that there can be no compromise between workers and bosses. Join us for the fight.