"'I said, 'No offense, but I only get paid one time, and that is to be a stocker,' said Williams, who today makes $11.50 an hour filling shelves with diapers, ramen and discount shampoo at a New Orleans store. Some months, he said, he can't make rent. 'So, sorry, I'm not about to put my life on the line,' he told his colleague."
"Like several successful campaigns before it, Step Up organizes workers to improve their jobs, but stops short of calling for a union under the National Labor Relations Board. The approach, sometimes referred to as "premajority unionism," is a natural fit for places like the South, with histories of public hostility to unions. Today, suggest experts, it may also be workers' best bet for building power amid the hostility of the Trump administration."
David Williams, a Dollar General stocker, declined to intervene during a 2019 knife incident because he prioritized his paid role and personal safety. Williams earns $11.50 an hour stocking shelves and sometimes cannot afford rent. In 2022, he joined Step Up Louisiana to seek better jobs and working conditions. Step Up organizes workers to improve jobs while avoiding formal National Labor Relations Board union elections, a strategy called premajority unionism. Premajority unionism fits the South’s right-to-work environment and may be a practical way for workers to build power amid political hostility. The United States has tens of thousands of dollar-store locations.
Read at Truthout
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]