Posts tagged ‘strikes’

Reimagining the General Strike

by , posted on Friday, April 27th, 2012 at 5:59 pm

from The Nation

When May 1 rolls around, the proposed general strike will probably not strictly resemble famed general strikes of history. But the tactic is no less significant now than it used to be. In fact, a lot rides on this upcoming May Day. This video, featuring archival footage and the words of Marina Sitrin, Francis Fox Piven and John Nichols, explains why the general strike matters so much, not just for Occupy and labor but for the legitimacy of democracy itself.

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Gayatri Spivak: The General Strike Is Not Reformist

by , posted on Friday, April 27th, 2012 at 1:29 pm

from The Nation

The idea of the general strike is not reformist simply because it demands changes to laws and working conditions. Rather, as Professor Gayatri Spivak of Columbia University argues in this video, the general strike is one vital tool in the array of tactics that must be used to fundamentally alter the relations between the classes. What’s more, revolution will not come about through a “catastrophic change” as was once imagined, and that concept should be given a decent burial.

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Marina Sitrin: Imagining a New General Strike

by , posted on Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 at 11:32 am

from The Nation

The call for a general strike on May 1 should not be solely about work, argues Marina Sitrin, a postdoctoral fellow at CUNY specializing in global mass movements. Instead, it should reshape our ideas about how society is built, as Sitrin explains in this video, by asking hard questions about class, consumption, work and society.

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John Nichols: The Power of the General Strike

by , posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 9:16 pm

from The Nation

The idea of a general strike might seem a little outdated for today’s global economy, but general strikes nevertheless demonstrate not just the power but also the necessity of coordinated action for social and economic justice. In this video, John Nichols, who grew up in a factory town, offers a brief overview of the history of unionization and the general strike and the impact of both on workers’ rights.

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