What is interesting is the new strategy for worker empowerment. The strategy of a few individuals striking and protesting one day a year is a complete departure from historical union strategy that has relied on en masse worker solidarity to directly threaten production.
Instead, this approach relies on the persistence of a brave few and their indirect impact.
Leveraging worker power in an increasingly intricate and consolidated market is complicated. While the same threats of loss of income and retaliation in the workplace continue to exist to dissuade workers from standing up for their rights, now corporations are multi-site and multinational. Even if all 300 workers at one Walmart store were brave enough to go on strike and shut down operations, Walmart has hundreds of other sites to absorb that loss. They can hunker down and eat the loss in order to make a point to the rest of their 1.4 million employees that they are not to be challenged.
Old strategies in a new environment don't work so here's the new one:
By striking only one day a year, the economic burden that individual workers face is reduced. The fact is, strike funds and employee savings will always run out before the large coffers of Walmart. Battles of attrition are no longer practical. Targeting Black Friday, the most anticipated shopping day of the year, creates a continual media presence. This leverages the more complex pressure points of public opinion and consumer preference in a far more sustainable way. An annual strike also creates a continual presence among the employees, reminding them to not acclimate to injustice but to fight it. Each year that the strikes and protests continue is proof that standing up to Walmart can be done. It inspires others to join the movement. And finally, by targeting the largest retailer and employer in the country, any impact that is made sends ripples through the entire labor force.
However, the brilliance of the strategy is also its Achilles' heel. While the number of people who pay attention to Black Friday is enormous, and it is also a day targeted towards luxury goods and indulgences. The best-case scenario would be that consumers have a moment of reflection and ethically prioritize the human rights of others over their desire for a cutthroat deal on a new TV.
But human psychology is complex and cognitive dissonance is distressing. While Walmart is, of course, a specific entity, it's also representative of a larger problem that we Americans all prefer to ignore: we all want more stuff but can't afford to have it all at its true cost.
Walmart's labor abuses fall into the category of uncomfortable truths that in our heart of hearts we know but find too inconvenient to admit to ourselves. It's much easier to assert that the reports of Walmart's labor practices are controversial. If we tell ourselves that they haven't been proven true yet, we can still go shopping, guilt free.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
