#Picketing

[humanityinahandbag]

I'd like to tell you all a story about my grandmother.

My grandparents raised their children, four girls (one of them my mother), to be fighters. My aunts marched in Washington for women's rights with babies strapped to their chests and like to joke that all of the grandchildren who came from that line (including myself) were born with picket signs in their hands.

But it started with my grandparents. They fought hard for what they believed in. They marched against Vietnam. They marched for Martin Luther King. They marched for women's rights. They marched for a better future.

But let's talk specifically about my grandmother for a moment.

My grandmother unfortunately passed away in 2016. She had to watch the first Trump election and did so knowing that it would probably be the last election she'd ever see. And there is some argument there that she could have given in to fear and defeatism. She could have decided none of it was worth it, and she could have decided that fascism had won and the world was over.

But she did something else instead.

To give some context, my grandparents had friends who were Republicans. I say were, because they shifted from the normal Republican towards the MAGA Republican we see today. And despite a very clear message from my family about how we felt, they were more than ready to still come to the funeral as if everything was normal. Like their beliefs were normal. Like they were welcome to celebrate someone who had fought so hard for the rights of other people.

These were people who would have absolutely used their rhetoric to scream and shout if they were left out or disinvited.

And so my grandmother, even past her final moments, pulled the most brilliant, petty move I've ever seen.

She'd decided ahead of time that everyone who had known her was more than welcome to attend but that she wanted everyone attending the funeral to donate money. That was the requirement to be invited. And so everyone did just that. There was no talk about what the donations were for, just that they were appreciated. I want to say that the assumption was the money would help pay for funeral expenses and give the family some support while we grieved.

Except that wasn't the case.

Because in those final moments of the funeral, the rabbi stepped forward to thank everyone, and then very cheerfully announced;

"Arlene was so happy to know just how many people were coming to join us here today. She couldn't have been more proud of her family. And I'm sure she would have been elated to see just how much money you all gave today to Planned Parenthood."

When I say that the faces of those people are enshrined in my memory, I mean it. The anger, the devastation, the rage, the betrayal. It was an absolutely gorgeous display of true defeat at the hands of a boss ass old lady who literally fought with her last breath and threw up both middle fingers all the way out the door.

What I'm saying is this.

It is very easy to feel defeated. It is very easy to think that everything is over, and there's nothing left for us to do. It's very easy to say that fascism won, that fear won, that hate won.

But that's only true if you let it be true.

There is always more that we can do. There is a future that is still worth fighting for. And it's more than possible, even when it doesn't seem like it.

And fighting is going to look different every time.

Some days it will look like picket signs in our hands.

Some days it will look like spending time with friends and family and people you love and knowing that you have a community that supports you and your vision of a brighter future.

And some days, it's pulling absolute natural level 20 petty trickster shit even after you've left the world.

Because you can always make an impact and you can always add a little brightness to life, and if that means tricking a group of MAGA idiots into throwing their money behind Planned Parenthood in the middle of your own goddamn funeral then that's what it means.

Keep fighting. People have done it before you. People will continue to do it after you.

And enjoy the little victories.

(Even the petty ones)

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Employees of the Fleischer Studios picket the New Criterion Theater to protest the showing of Popeye and other cartoons drawn by striking Fleischer artists, 1937. The five-month strike led to the first union contracts in animation, a later strike at the Disney studios, and groundbreaking new works from frustrated employees who left these animation shops to set out on their own.

Photo: Getty Images/Business Insider

[brettdoesdiscourse]

I just want to remind everyone (or inform if you haven't heard yet) that Universal trimmed trees that offered shade to picketers while experiencing a heatwave. I just don't want anyone to forget Universal purposefully removed a shaded area to discourage picketing.

[senoritafish]

Some picketing pics from Riverside in So Cal, where a work friend & I went last Thursday. Probably the majority of coverage was in Sacramento, because that's the capitol, but there was picketing all over the state.

I've worked for the state for nearly 30 years, and this is the 1st time it's come to this - although the pay gap has been an issue since I started.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"12,500 STEEL WORKERS OUT AT THREE PLANTS; WAR OUTPUT SUFFERS," Toronto Star. January 14, 1943. Page 1. ---- Loss Set at 170,200 Tons Monthly, Two-Thirds of Nation's Production ---- ASK WAGE BOOST ---- Three of Canada's basic steel producing plants today are tied up by strikes. A total of 12,500 men have quit work at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.; Sydney and Trenton, N.S., to enforce demands for wage increases.

Five thousand workers at Sydney, N.S. - on strike for the third day - were joined early today by 4,000 at Sault Ste. Marie and 3,500 at Trenton.

Strikes at Sydney and Sault Ste. Marie tied up two of the dominion's three basic steel producing plants. It was estimated by government figures the loss in production at the two plants would amount to; 170,212 tons a month, or two-thirds of the country's basic steel output.

Workers at the Steel Company of Canada at Hamilton have decided to defer strike action until the company management has been approached regarding negotiations with the United Steelworkers of America (C.I.O.).

Picket Lines Set Up The strike at the Sault began officially at 7 a.m. when members of the day shift didn't report. Picket lines were set up.

The strikers were not joined by 500 transportation department employees and machinists, members of American Federation of Labor unions. These entered the plant to work today and were not interfered with by pickets. An additional 500 men engaged on construction work were not direly affected by the strike, it was reported.

It was announced that 300 men had been left in the plant to do maintenance work. No effort was made to stop those who wished to continue their regular work in the plant, but as buses neared the picket lines, a union representative boarded each and read the following statement: "This bus after its next stop will go through a picket line - any working man going through that line to work is undermining the fight of his fellow-workers for decent living standards. Let your conscience be your guide."

[ethicallysaucedlibraryfaggot]

I have never found so many men actors this attractive than seeing them all at the picket lines

[arctic-hands]

What's the etymology of "picketing"? Wikipedia doesn't say and I don't care enough to sort thru the AI generated web search results but I am mildly curious

[mortiz888-blog]

New York's Early Voting Stats & Tech Workers Walkout

As New York wraps up early voting with over a million ballots cast, we dive into the stats. Plus, hundreds of tech workers at the New York Times have walked out, demanding job security and fair pay. Discover the story behind the headlines! #NewYorkVoting #EarlyVotingStats #TechWorkers #NYTimesWalkout #Election2023 #JobSecurity #LaborRights #AIEffect #Picketing #UnionDemand

[nando161mando]

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Striking members of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) picket on 7th Avenue between 36th and 37th Streets, March 6, 1958. The strike, then in its second day, involved 105,000 workers in seven eastern states, 65,000 of them in the New York City area. The strike was the first in 25 years and union officials said it was "100 percent effective."

Photo: Associated Press via U Calif Irvine School of Social Sciences

[senoritafish]

So, this was me and my co-workers last week. CAL-HR tried to stop us, but since we haven't had a contract for 3 years, and have formally been declared at an impasse, this was declared a legal work stoppage. I think if they were bargaining "in good faith" there would have been a contract long before this. As it is, they keep coming back with the same terms.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2023/11/15/california-scientists-strike/ae3487fc-8424-11ee-924c-6e6807155e36_story.html

Thousands of California scientists strike over stalled contract talks

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thousands of scientists who work for California began a rolling three-day strike Wednesday — the first walkout by a state civil service union.

Members of the California Association of Professional Scientists marched under cloudy skies in Sacramento to protest lack of progress in contract talks. The walkout will spread to Los Angeles, Oakland and other cities on Thursday and Friday.

The union represents about 5,200 members who work in more than 50 state departments and deal with issues ranging from air pollution and toxic waste control to earthquake hazards and agricultural pests, according to its website.

Members have been without a contract since 2020 despite bargaining and mediation. The membership rejected a tentative agreement earlier this year. Another state mediation session is planned for Nov. 28.

It is the first time that state workers have struck since civil servants won collective bargaining rights in 1977, The Sacramento Bee reported.

“Nobody wants to be on strike, and nobody wants to be the first,” the union’s president, Jacqueline Tkac, told the Bee. “But it feels really inspiring to know that we have people that are so fired up about our situation that they’re willing to go out on strike for the first time and take that risk.”

Last week, the California Department of Human Resources filed a complaint of unfair labor practices against the union in an attempt to prevent the strike.

On Wednesday, the department said it was disappointed by the strike and that the state continues to bargain “in good faith.”

The state “will continue to work with CAPS to achieve a fair successor agreement as we have with other bargaining units,” department spokesperson Camille Travis said in an email.

The union’s main concern is higher wages. It says state scientists are paid 40% to 60% less than “comparable positions who have the same level of responsibility and do similar or identical work.”

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Miners Won’t Work Unless Given Food,” Toronto Star. December 20, 1932. Page 1. ---- Refuse to Go Down Shaft When Relief Request Is Rejected --- Special to The StarGlace Bay, N.S., Decem. 20 – The first ‘hunger strike’ ever to occur in the coal mines of Cape Breton is in progress at reserve mines to-day where 300 colliers refused to go below. Refusal of the municipal authorities to grant relief orders yesterday led to the tie-up. Miners at a mass meeting claimed that unless given food for their lunch cans to-day they could not work. Pickets in an orderly manner effected a strike at the mine at 7 a.m. to-day.

[stealingpotatoes]

more merrical kids stuff bc its my art blog and i can draw whatever i want <3

(commission info // tip jar!)

[nuttysaladtree]

[The English-language] Wiktionary cites the Oxford English Dictionary, which is region locked for me, so I can't verify this for myself: "Originally in reference to a common French greeting. Later, from English and American associations of the French people with sexual boldness (see [the dictionary entry on] French), with probable influence from earlier English and continuing European association of the French with oral sex. (See [the entry on] to french.)".

For your main question: in this context (a strike of American unions), I think what Americans mean are (perceived?) differences in allowed conduct while striking for the two countries. This question likely refers not to the refusal of work but to behavior while picketing.

You are more familiar with how strikes work in France, so you can compare them to the WGA picking guidelines and the SAG-AFTRA ones. The latter, I think, strikes (no pun intended) at the heart of OP's question.

One point I'd like to highlight in particular is part of the SAG-AFTRA guideline against speaking to the police: "Even proper statements may be misconstrued, and it may be a trap designed to elicit a statement in violation of labor law." I infer (not a lawyer) that SAG-AFTRA's guidelines are proactive in heading off attempts to (ab)use the law to get rid of picketers. They even frame their guidelines this way, much more so than the WGA (paragraph beginning "It is important that everyone be aware that strikes are legal actions...").

hello, i hope you’re well!

do you think that the studios’s refusals to acknowledge the sag-aftra and wga strikes will lead to protests in the french way?

You mean with tongues?

[kropotkindersurprise]

July 25, 2023 - Striking stuntman Mike Massa walks in the SAG-AFTRA picket line while on fire. [video]