By Leonard Zorfass, Red Phoenix correspondent, New Jersey.

According to a recent Supreme Court ruling released on Thursday, June 1, 2023, companies are now granted the ability to sue unions for damages resulting from strikes.

Damages resulting from strikes very much include financial damage and loss of profit. This decision strikes a blow at an already fragile power base among unions, while undermining the collective efforts of workers in “right-to-work” states. By examining relevant data, we can understand the implications of this ruling on exploited workers and marginalized communities.

In recent years the Supreme Court’s attacks on organized labor, which began under the Reagan regime, have continued more openly and with less resistance.

Research conducted even by bourgeois organizations, such as the Economic Policy Institute, consistently reveals the critical role that unions play in reducing income inequality and narrowing the wage gap. Unionized workers, and particularly workers from oppressed communities, benefit from higher wages and improved benefits compared to their non-unionized counterparts. The June 1 Supreme Court ruling obstructs the potential of unions to uplift marginalized workers, hindering their capacity to effectively fight for fair treatment and economic justice through the legal means of the current system. This threatens to exacerbate existing income disparities, limit access to quality healthcare and retirement benefits, and perpetuate systemic injustices.

This ruling is openly presented as a measure to protect the interests of companies against the interests of their exploited and oppressed employees. By granting companies the ability to sue unions for damages, the ruling seeks to intimidate and suppress the collective power of the oppressed. It reinforces the inherent violence of capitalism, as corporations wield their financial might as a weapon against the workers’ demands for better wages, improved working conditions, and an end to exploitation.

History has shown us the transformative power of organized resistance. The ruling class fears the unity of workers. Even the tame strikes of recent years have put enough fear into the ruling class to make such fundamental attacks on workers rights. It is through solidarity, education, and collective action that we can dismantle the structures that perpetuate exploitation and fight for a society where the needs and aspirations of the oppressed are valued above profit. Fostering inclusive and diverse radical labor movements that center the experiences and demands of workers of color and oppressed genders will be crucial to the liberation of the working class and humankind as a whole.

The erosion of legal rights and protections demands urgent attention and action. As attacks on the working masses persist, it becomes increasingly apparent that the struggle for justice and equality may necessitate unconventional means to rectify systemic injustices.

Categories: Labor, U.S. News, Workers Struggle