Published in Briarpatch Magazine
https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/collective-action-is-essential
Workers are finding ways to organize despite the fear and uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis. Through courageous public actions and less-visible organizing strategies, they are confronting the inhumane logic of racial capitalism that says our labour is essential but our lives are not.
We know that employers won’t respect workers’ rights without a fight. Neither will governments that put profits before people and undermine already limited workplace protections. The only thing that we can rely on is the collective power we build by organizing together. Workers are demonstrating this by refusing to do unsafe work, exposing bad bosses, forming unions, engaging in mutual aid, and building coalitions to fight for a more egalitarian society.
