PHOTO/STEVE RHODES
OAKLAND, CA — On August 29, fast food workers in Oakland joined fast food workers all over the country in taking a stand against big corporations. Many of us have stopped in at a KFC, McDonalds or Jack In The Box to grab a bite to eat. Corporations like the ones named above reap massive benefits, while the workers break their backs with no health care benefits. McDonalds alone has “served billions” and made billions because of it. The emergence of the fast food workers’ strikes represents a significant motion in the U.S. A new social contract must be implemented in the interest of the working class as a whole.
The Oakland event hosted over 300 people, and included unions and community organizations such as SEIU 1021, ILWU-Local 10, the Peralta Federation of Teacher’s Union, the Women’s Economic Agenda Project (WEAP), and the Alliance of California for Community Empowerment (ACCE) as lead organizer of this action. Many speakers graced the state, including Rep. Barbara Lee, Our Walmart leader, recently fired Dominic Ware, and WEAP’s, Ethel Long Scott. The action was energetic, organized and powerful. Even more significant, however, is what the fast food workers motion means for all U.S. workers.
The demands made by the workers of “East Bay Up the Pay!” are not only in unison with national efforts around the country, but also echo the voices of those who are engaged in similar struggles around a living wage, health care for the 99 percent and basic values like dignity and humanity. As reported by the “East Bay Up the Pay” White Paper, “there are over four million people working in the fast food industry. Their average age is 28 with a median wage of $9.08 an hour. These wages fall far beyond the federal poverty line for a worker who is able to work 40 hours a week, without ever getting sick.” Contrast this with McDonalds’ earnings of over $5.5 billion in profit last year, and that company is one of many in which these workers struggle.
At the heart of this struggle, undiscussed and carefully leveraged by owners and CEO’s, is laborless production. The economic revolution of the 1970’s resulted in the ongoing replacement of workers by machines. More and more we are seeing the automation of jobs ravage the U.S. workforce and undermine opportunity for many workers. These workers often find themselves in low wage fast food jobs, and are becoming members of the class of dispossessed. Teachers, radio station DJ’s, bank tellers and fast food workers are among the jobs that continue to be targeted by the process of automation.
Ethel Long Scott, when asked about what the event represents said, “This vast, sweeping economic shift taking place for over 40 years is now being responded to by workers who are recognizing that when the people can’t pay for the goods, a new social contract must be established to address that. These strikes are proposals for a new vision, and the Women’s Economic Agenda Project supports that, as is reflected in the Resolutions of Action that came out of the World Courts of Women on Poverty in the U.S.” (See article on Page 9.)
