practical advice please, how to deal with scabs
Sep 4 2007
Three AFSCME units are striking wednesday at the university here in Minneapolis - clerical, technical, and medical workers, it's the second strike in 4 years for the clerical workers. There will be scabs, both members and people in nonunion jobs at the university crossing the picket line as well as temp workers brought in to keep work going. I think it could be useful to move a leaflet and talk to people in buildings. I'd like advice on what to say in the conversations and leaflet. I'd _really_ like advice drawn from experiences people have had or heard of. Please don't waste my time with debate right now or with bravado like "spit on them" or hit them or whatever, that doesn't seem like it's going to work right now. (We're going to be a small group and if we get arrested and chucked out of the building then we can't talk to anyone else -- it's not feasible to choke off the entry points to the workplace because the university is too big and there's too many alternate routes and we're too small.) More confrontational stuff may be usable at the temp agencies that supply scabs (I don't really know), we may picket or do other stuff at those places too if we can find out the names of the agencies. Advice on that is appreciated too. Oh yeah, if anyone wants info on the strike see uworkers.org
Sep 4 2007
#2
Through the limited experience I've had in trying to organise workplaces I have found the argument that the wages that we all enjoy(?) now comes from union activity and worker solidarity in the past has worked ok. You can throw in a little solidarity talk as well, but not bullshitting them into a certain victory. I have also asked people about what their parents did for a living and tried to find a union connection there somewhere. When you talk up how staunch their old man or mum must be because he or she was a union member who would've walked if needed be, people quite often start thinking that if their parents could do it then so could I. At this stage I would certainly lay off talk of impending revolution... 
All the best. gregg 
Sep 4 2007
#3
Quote:
Maybe try to get someone signed up as a temp at the temp agencies (if you can find out which are running the scabs) to stir stuff up with the temps?
I agree that this is a long shot. I was working in warehousing at one time and I found that the temps were the most resistant to any sort of organising due to being by far, the most vulnerable of employees. They literally were living day by day and the boss could fuck them off fo the most ridiculous of reasons. They would then be punished by the temp agency for fucking up an 'ópportunity' and so may go a couple of weeks without work. In the context I'm talking about these temp workers were far from the mercenaries that some are. Anyway, again, all the best. gregg.
Sep 4 2007
#4
gregg wrote:
I agree that this is a long shot. I was working in warehousing at one time and I found that the temps were the most resistant to any sort of organising due to being by far, the most vulnerable of employees. They literally were living day by day and the boss could fuck them off fo the most ridiculous of reasons. They would then be punished by the temp agency for fucking up an 'ópportunity' and so may go a couple of weeks without work. In the context I'm talking about these temp workers were far from the mercenaries that some are. Anyway, again, all the best. gregg.
Agreed, thats certainly how it is. I was a temp at a warehouse for about 4 months and shared the same experience, just thought I'd bring it up as something to try before as Nate said, "spit on them" or hit them or whatever". I suppose maybe I had stars in my eyes after reading Steinbecks In Dubious Battle, like when that one party guy got on board the train full of scabs heading to the fields from San Fran and convinced most of them to join the strike as soon as they arrived. 
Well aside from that, good luck Nate, keep us updated well yea?
Always liked the cover...
Sep 4 2007
#5
Boze, Gregg, thanks. I'll keep folk updated. If you guys could put your advice into like dialog form kind of, like as close to word-for-word of what you'd say, that'd be tremendously helpful. Then we can mutate it and whatnot before we try it, and change it as we have conversations. Basically all I can think to say is "you're taking money from the pockets of the people on the line by being here. How do you feel about that?", and offering to help people find other jobs instead of scabbing.
Sep 4 2007
#6
Quote:
"you're taking money from the pockets of the people on the line by being here. How do you feel about that?"
I'd personally be wary of language like that that can easily come across as dogmatic. Folks all too often have enough financial worries of their own to give too much of a shit about others, especially those who, to them may look like trouble makers. I can't begin to tell you how many times i've encountered the response "Mate, I just wanna come to work, do my job and go home", so I reckon that if you keep in mind that a lot of peeps feel like this it'll help with the approach you go with. Other tips when talking to people... DON'T !!! Talk WITH them not to them. Try to engage them on their terms. Make sure you don't talk too fast too. This is a common problem when activists are really pumped up they tend to speak harshly and way too fast, scaring off potential allies. Also, don't just hand out a flyer as most people do the old set and forget so you've wasted a tree for nought. People don't like to be badgered either like you get by people raising money for charity on the street. Try asking them in a calm way "Are you aware of what's going on here today?". If you are approaching someone who is crossing or thinking of crossing ask them "How do you feel about what's going on today?" This can usually be followed up with information that the person may not be aware of and therefore create another potential ally. Back to the flyer idea... Some peeps don't feel comfortable talking so once you've attempted to open up engagement you will soon work out whether they feel comfortable talking or not... If not, ask them "would you like a bit more information to take away and read in your own time?" Rather than say stuff like "here's some more stuff about why these people are bastards". Anyway, enough dribble from me, I'm sure there are many others with a wealth of experience out there. All the best comrade. gregg.
Sep 4 2007
#7
bozemananarchy wrote:
Maybe try to get someone signed up as a temp at the temp agencies (if you can find out which are running the scabs) to stir stuff up with the temps? I know its a long shot and time is way to close but, well, thats all I got.
i know in the brighton bin men's occupation (just before i moved down here) outside activists arranged with the strikers to picket employment agencies, and managed to stop them hiring scabs. how much that was rational persuasion/embarasment and how much they looked like they were going to brick the place i'm not sure.
Sep 4 2007
#8
Some good advice here. Yeah being confrontational's not a useful option for many strikes.
Are the people who sign the temps' time sheets striking? If so, is there the option to tell them they'll get paid even if they don't go in? Or if you told them that if they did come in, to not do any work? When I was a temp once I got paid even though I didn't go in.
Sep 5 2007
#9
What we're seeing more and more in GB is that the real scabs are the trade unions. they're organised scabbery on a grand scale. Examples abound, from the Heathrow plane worker's strike a few months back to the current underground "dispute". There's a division of labour, or rather a labour of division, that the unions have taken on as their role for the state.
As for your question: First raise the iissue with fellow strikers. Then talk to (and/or leaflet) the scabs as workers. Express your solidarity because of the grim position they generally find themselves in and ask for their solidarity. One class, one struggle.
Sep 6 2007
#10
Picket lines seemed disorganized to me today, but lively. Problem is it seemed mostly like static stand-around-with-a-sign picketing. No blocking of access, and not much attempts to talk to people who were crossing. One exception is a loading dock near one of the bigger libraries, where picketers turned away some trucks (all members of the Teamsters, I think). A friend improvised a support petition from people who were crossing the line to work in un-struck units (including members of other unions on campus). Forty people signed. We plan to have an open public meeting in two weeks about the strike, we'll see how that goes. There's construction going on, building a new stadium and whatnot, the contractors all promised that 'their' workers wouldn't stop work in the event of a labor dispute. A leaflet to those workers might still be in order. Advice on leaflet text is much appreciated. The picket I was on for a while walked by a different loading dock, talked to cars coming in and out and one truck from a nonunion grocery delivery company. The driver still delivered the groceries. The strike support group has a web site, uworkers.org if folk are interested in info. I haven't made it to any of the support meetings yet, I'm skeptical of some of the folk involved but I plan to go on saturday.
Sep 7 2007
#11
Misinformation may be useful, this isn't from experience but just a brain fart. Getting people to send documents to the wrong people, circulating bogus emails about meetings during work time may all be helpful. Maybe even look the buildings over real close and call in building code violations.
Sep 7 2007
#12
Sep 7 2007
#13
Take their pictures.
Sep 7 2007
#14
i've scabbed before cos young and anxious. but if someone had said "look we [i know you are leaving] will likely get a pay rise" rather than them try and threaten me i would have joined them at the time. i mean i myself don't like confrontation but am not going to respect the wishes of a group of people that try and intimidate me. i mean, who does 
the last thing on my mind if someone spits on me is class solidarity 
i'm agreeing with baboons answer. don't really understand you lot tbh.
Sep 7 2007
#15
what psychological state are you looking to induce? humilation? anger at you? desperation? i can only see "fear" working [from your choices] and it's not the miner's strike atm is it
eta: i suppose if you've already talked it through with them it's different tho. apologies for assuming the worst.
Sep 7 2007
#16
Of course you try to talk with them first if there is that opportunity. After that, whatever else works.
Ideally, you offer them union membership and priority with hiring assuming you have or think you can get some strong shop control.
Sep 7 2007
#17
Not knowing the issues at hand, there's a few ways to divide the discussion.
Overall I agree with pghwob...try and talk with folks first.
It seems to me that there will probably be a couple of kinds of scabs:
1) Employees who are anti-union; have a beef with the union or are scared shitless
2) Students who, willingly or not, are doing struck work.
3) Temp workers who are assigned the job by their agency
I suspect that in all departments there are probably a mixture of all.
I would suggest finding out where best to direct energies---where are there more temps than scabbing workers. Perhaps a tactic with these folks is to try and create alot of turnover among them. However you legally and appropriately address your appeals, try and get folks to ask their agencies for re-assingments---in non-struck workplaces.
Perhaps informational pickets at known agencies providing temps. Try and embrass the agency. Try and educate temps before they accept an assignment.
Same with students, getting whatever progressive student groups to put pressure on their peers. Again with the aim of flipping em and making turn over. Or simple strike on the job....that is work like a turtle in reverse. Some of these students may be pressured into scabbing by admin or unsymapthetic profs.
The hardest group is always the anti-union worker. At best, all you can try and do is appeal to their common sense or their self-interest. But even so, you may not get mouch out of it.
An interesting segment are always those workers who are pissed at the union and the boss, but scab. Sometimes they have grievances that the union has overlooked or failed to act on. Perhaps these folks can be won over.
Obviously there's no magic wand and much of it depend on knowing the situation on the group.
BTW, if possible, I'd see if there are any progressive or radicals within the union or strike committee and seek em out. Try and conversate with em and give em a sense that you want to be of help. That you respect their ownership of the strike, but you want to help. Try and lay out a couple of ways in which you can help in a practical way.
If you're told to take a hike....well, take a hike with picket signs and banners. But don't jepordize the strike or strikers with stuff that may be too way out.
Well, maybe not much help, but some thoughts nevertheless.
Good luck!
Sep 8 2007
#18
Donkey's years ago I was involved in a strike at an engineering works. A few locals carried on working but the overwhelming majority were out and angry. Scabs were bussed in from a city a hundred and twenty miles away. Lines of cops to protect them, reinforced windows on the buses - everything to separate them from us and us from them. Unbeknownst to the majority of us, the strike committe came up with a 'if you can't beat them, join them' strategy. A local worker (he had fled from Hungary after the 56 uprising) was designated a "scab". He signed on and went to work on the bus, putting up with the spitting and abuse (how the leftists love this activity), as well as the abuse he got locally. He was a saboteur. Lathes in those days were not set up by computer but the fine tuning was done by hand. He subtley altered the machinery and destroyed a major export order. He also aroused suspicion between the management and scabs. It was an extraordinary and brave action. The strike got screwed though through a combination of isolation by the unions (the real scabs) and the antics of the parachuted in leftists.
Sep 9 2007
#19
Baboon, that sounds like a very interesting story, any chance you could write it up with a bit more detail?
With scabs if you're not going to physicaly stop them getting into the buildings and you can't picket everywhere then maybe try to talk to them when they come in, car park/bus stop/train station, or access routes.
With students as said above, see if you can work up a leaflet and pass it on to a student group, assuming there is a decent one that will help you.
Sep 10 2007
#20
hey nate. yeah man maybe i'm just stoned, but looking back i scabbed cos 1. i am irresponsible; and 2. the strike didn't look as much fun as the general assembly [that's the right word right? "spontaneous" meeting of workers to discuss the union] that we had created a few weeks before.
so yeah you could try and recreate the solidarity of a general assembly; that might catch up a few more workers into the reform you're fighting for.
Sep 17 2007
#21
Hey Nate, how did/are things going with this?
Sep 17 2007
#22
hey Gregg, I've been real busy so away from the internet. Things are real mixed. Today is day 13 of the strike, the 8th work day. The pickets around the university have started to focus more on the shipping/recieving docks exclusively, turning away unionized drivers etc, which is having an impact. More later.
Sep 18 2007
#23
After, what over two weeks, persuasion has failed and any remaining scabs need a good kicking or to be taken out and beaten with pick axe handles...
Oct 16 2007
#24
Short update if anyone's interested -
strike ended after about three weeks, 13 work days missed. People went back with just about the same offer they struck over but couldn't be out much longer w/ out money. No one's happy about it. There's a vote on the contract coming up (they went back to work but didn't vote to accept the offer yet), we'll see what happens with that. It was four locals on strike, not 3 like I said at first, and there's been some positive developments in terms of coordination and relationships built between members in each local and across the locals. There are some groups still around based on people who picketed together, they've been continuing to talk about what they think should happen next with the vote on this contract and w/ the next contract. That's a good thing and hopefully will provide the basis for more stuff. A lot of people are also pretty down, though, because they were out a long time and the university didn't budge much at all. That's going to be an obstacle to future stuff that people will have to organize around.
Oct 16 2007
#25
Boulcolonialboy wrote:
After, what over two weeks, persuasion has failed and any remaining scabs need a good kicking or to be taken out and beaten with pick axe handles...
The worst thing that I ever saw done to a scab personally was somebody's eye being taken out with a coal chisel, quite unpleasant.
Devrim
Oct 16 2007
#26
Holy crap. Did you plan to do this, or was it just spur of the moment?
Oct 16 2007
#27
I didn't do it. I saw it done. The personally refers to seeing.
Devrim
Oct 16 2007
#28
Sorry Dev, I was trying to make a joke, sorry if that didn't come across or if it's an inappropriate subject to joke about.
That's really intense. Do you mind telling the rest of the story?
Oct 16 2007
#29
Imo it's also totally counter-productive 
Maybe try to get someone signed up as a temp at the temp agencies (if you can find out which are running the scabs) to stir stuff up with the temps? I know its a long shot and time is way to close but, well, thats all I got.