Tech 1010 Newsletter - Issue 37
Happy New Year!
It’s a new year but we’re still riding the historic wave of union activity, new organizing, and militancy. Workers across the labor movement have won historic victories, over 150,000 workers in the UAW won increase in wages by at least 25% over the next four-and-a-half years, workers with SAG-AFTRA won historic protections from AI and compensation for streaming, and our very own comrades at Code for America won across the board wage increases, adoption and fertility support, gender-affirming care, and worker protections against caste-based discrimination in their first contract!
Although these wins are historic, they aren’t close to the value that workers create with our labor. Decades of concessions from unions and decline in organized workers have led to cost of living and inflation outpacing our wages, a degradation in our workplace and government benefits like pensions and healthcare, and, although the labor movement won us the weekend and 40 hours work week, it still feels like we’re somehow working all the time? In order to continue fighting for what we deserve, we have to keep escalating our fight an building power. That’s why UAW president Shawn Fain has called for a general strike on May 1st 2028.
While one man can seed this idea, it’s up to thousands of workers to make this a reality. The first step towards organizing a general strike is to line up contract expirations on May 1, 2028 by talking to your coworkers and making it a collective demand you’re willing to fight for. The potential power of striking alongside workers from across the country can lead to winning demands like a higher minimum wage or universal healthcare — far more than a strike at just one workplace or just one company. What step can you take now for you and your coworkers to join this fight?
With joy and solidarity,
RV and Kaar
