Worker Strikes
Striking is a fundamental right of workers. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right to free speech as well as the right to free assembly, and labor striking can be perceived as free expression and free assembly. Still, striking is relatively rare in the United States because it is considered disruptive to the economy. Workers are discouraged from forming labor unions, in large part because labor unions became corrupt political and power-hungry entities. In the current economic depression, labor unions offer workers one of the only means to assert their political power. Workers have the right to strike any time they feel that their rights are violated. Generally, if enough workers agree to the terms of the strike it will be justified. No labor union has the funding to allow a strike to continue indefinitely, and no corporation could suffer the consequences of having to override a labor union.
Some situations make striking either impossible or inappropriate. So-called "essential services" laborers are exempt from striking because their areas of expertise are crucial such as in medical emergencies. Teachers and other governmental workers are occasionally mandated to work because to strike would do a great disservice to the community. If striking does a disservice to the community then the practice should not be allowed: striking is a vehicle to ensure social equity and economic justice. The reason why laborers strike is to assert their power collectively over an otherwise oppressive corporate entity.
A recent New York Daily News article details a possible security guard strike in New York City. While security guards are crucial to maintaining the safety of the private buildings and offices their companies represent, those workers still do deserve equitable pay and healthy working conditions. "Security officers protecting city buildings should not be struggling to get by," as some commentators suggest. Officers who are underpaid are unlikely to perform their job with aplomb. All workers are human beings and all human beings deserve to be honored, valued and treated fairly.
References
Lisberg, a. (2009). Union representing 1,100 security guards at 20 city agencies threatening to strike. New York Daily News. April 2, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2009 from http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/04/02/2009-04-02_union_representing_1100_security_guards_.html
Moberg, D. (2007). Labor strikes back. The American Prospect. Nov. 1, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2009 from http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=labor_strikes_back
